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NAVAL LIFE; 



OR, 



OBSERVATIONS AFLOAT AND ON SHORE. 



THE 



MIDSHIPMAN. 



BT 



W. F. LTNCH, U. S. N 




NEWTOEK: 

CHARLES SCRIBNER, 145 NASSAU STREET. 

1851. 



Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 18' 1, by 

CHAELE8 SOEIBNEE, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Soiithern 

District of Ne'V York. 



C. W. B ENED I CT, 

8 T E R E O T ^' !• E R AND P R 1 N T E R , 

2Ul William Street 



TO 

LIEUT. M. F. MAUREY, 

THE STAUNCH FRIEND AND CONSISTENT ADVOCATE OF 

THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE NAYY, 

THIS VOLUME 

IS DEDICATED. 



PREFACE. 



A WBiTEE, who respects himself, will not pander to 
a depraved taste ; nor, in seeking an object which 
his judgment sanctions and his heart approves, should 
he prefer the ideal, when human life is teeming with 
events less startling perhaps, but scarce less instructive 
to the well-balanced mind. 

If, without the labor of an argument, which but too 
often strengthens what it seeks to uproot ; if by a 
mere narrative of facts, one generous mind can be 
freed from prejudice, neither false delicacy nor the 
love of ease should withhold it. 

By a simple portraiture of the trials of Naval Life, 
I seek to combat the rising prejudices against my 
profession, and commit these pages to the press in 



Yl PEEFACE. 

the hope that the reader will attribute all imperfec- 
tions of arrangement and style to the early period 
when they were written ; for, having undertaken to 
publish from a journal there was as high an obligation 
felt, to follow it, even in its departures from conti- 
nuity, as to preserve its identity of thought and 
expression. It is proper, however, to say, that those 
who look for steerage wit, or forecastle slang, will 
be disappointed. 

The statement of the moral responsibility assumed 
by Commodore Hull, in sailing without orders, is 
given in justice to the memory of that officer, and 
rests on the authority of the late Purser Chew of the 
Navy ; his First Lieutenant, now himself a Commodore, 
who shared his counsels, is justly entitled to his meed 
of praise. My memory is at fault as to whom of two 
officers it was, who drew the plug from the boat — or 
his name would be given. The omission may be sup- 
plied hereafter. 

A portion of this journal has before appeared in a 
periodical, and its reception by the lovers of light 
reading, led to the proposition that the whole should 
be published. 

What is now presented embraces the career of a 
Midshipman. 



PREFACE. VU 

What may follow, must speak for itself. 

It was my earnest wish to have withheld my name 
from the title-page, but, in the opinion of others, 
the purpose in view could not be attained by an 
anonymous publication. For the sake of simplicity, 
I have adopted the first person singular, and hope 
that the reader will not ascribe it to egotism. In the 
words of one who has gone before — " There is no 
danger from me of ofiending him in this kind ; 
neither my mind, nor my body, nor my fortune, 
allow me any materials for this vanity. It is suffi- 
cient for my own contentment that they have pre- 
served my self-esteem." 

September, 1851. 



CHAPTER I. 

A MOTHERLESS child, with a father who, though not 
devoid of affection, was engrossed by the care of his 
property, I esteemed myself fortunate that at the age 
of sixteen, with the love of adventure enkindled by 
the very perils arrayed to deter me, I abandoned my 
studies, and embraced the roving, stirring, homeless, 
comfortless, but attractive life of a sailor. 

A frigate was fitting out in a neighboring seaport 
for a distant cruise, and from the time I first learned 
the possibility of being enrolled among her crew, I 
prosecuted a claim with untiring perseverance, and to 
my great delight, procured orders to her, with the 
appointment of midshipman. 

Exchanging the garb of mourning for the uniform 
of my adopted profession, I repaired to the navy yard 
to claim my berth, fancying as I went, that the atten- 
tion of others, as well as my own, was riveted on my 
dirk and the buttons on my collar, thus converting, in 
my simplicity, the smile of pity for my vanity, or 
sympathy for the trials which awaited me, into admi- 
ration of my figure and its trappings. 
1^ 



10 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

Passing throngL. an arched gateway into an extensive 
area, I recognized at once the object of my destination ; 
a large ship, partially careened, on which several 
hnndred caulkers were hammering most vigorously ; 
their rapid, unceasing strokes vibrating painfully on 
the inexperienced ear. 

Presenting my credentials to the captain, I was by 
him transferred to the first lieutenant, a compactly- 
built, active, and energetic man, who in turn handed 
me over to one of my own grade named Wilson, with 
directions to show me my quarters and have my 
hammock slung. 

This officer informed me that, for a few days, I would 
be excused from duty, to give me an opportunity of 
learning its routine and of becoming acquainted wdth 
the topography of the ship and the relative rank and 
position of my future shipmates. 

This gentleman took ine under his especial charge, 
gave me some excellent advice, and soon rendered me 
an essential service. 

Duelling was, at that time, very prevalent in the 
navy, and I had been told that among my associates 
no one was respected who had not either fought or 
evinced a readiness to do so, and my informant advised 
me to be upon my guard, as my courage would cer- 
tainly be tested. 

In consequence of this admonition, instead of meet- 
ing my messmates with the unsuspicious frankness of 
youth, I weighed the purport of everything that was 
said, and, like the fretful porcupine, armed at all points, 
was prepared to resent the slightest aggression. 



SCENE AT THE MESS-TABLE. 11 

Imperceptibly, this nnnatural state of feeling wore 
away, as I could detect no latent meaning in the hilari- 
ous conversation of a mess table, and before I was aware 
I had become a participant. One day the subject was 
the equipment and discipline of privateers, and I took 
occasion to describe one I had recently visited. I was 
listened to with attention, but, when I had finished, 
one of my messmates, sitting opposite, called out, 
" Tell that to the marines, you look too much 
as I do when I spin a yarn." As he spoke, in an 
instant, my plate, spoon, soup and all, were thrown 
directly in his face. There was an immediate uproar, 
and Anderson strove to get at me across the table ; but 
Wilson sprung to him, held him forcibly, and called, 
in a loud tone, to order. The respect in which he was 
held enforced his call, and, as soon as he could be 
heard, he proceeded to say, that I was a stranger, 
unacquainted with their customs and unused to 
their freedom of expression; that he considered Mr. 
Anderson bound to recall his words when he pledged 
himself that an ample apology would be given for what 
ensued; but that, if Mr. A. refused, he would hold 
him answerable for an insult to one placed under his 
charge by the first lieutenant. 

Although his appeal was received with acclamation, 
the matter might not have ended here, but the soup 
was not very hot, and Anderson had a turn for the ludi- 
crous. As soon, therefore, as he was released, he drew 
his handkerchief across his face, held it up, laughed 
outright at its appearance, and extending his hand, 
said, " You have served me right, and I owe 



12 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

you one. I did not mean to insult you, and I know 
tliat you are sorry to have lost your soup." 

My first tour of duty was tlie watch from 8 P. M. 
until midnight. The snow fell thick and fast, and 
hoods and tarpaulins had been placed oyer the hatches, 
to protect the men on the lower decks from the weather. 

Literally construing the order I received, to "keep 
the men below," I paraded in the snow, with chapeau 
on and dirk by my side, and eagerly wished for an op- 
portunity to exercise my dread authority. Nor had I 
to wait long. It occurred to the Quarter Master of the 
previous watch, as he was about springing into his 
hammock, that he had neglected to inform his relief of 
the state of the tide, and without stopping to resume 
his clothes, he hurried up and called to him. Hearing 
his voice, I turned, drew my dirk, and rushed upon 
him. Taken by surprise, the Quarter Master had not 
time to descend, but, springing aside, fled along the 
deck, with his pursuer at his heels. 

"The rapid chase we held. 
One urged by fury — one by fear impelled ;'' 

'' Now circling round the decks our ' course maintain/ 
Where the high mast ' o'erlooks the watery plain.' " 

At length, I stumbled over a coil of ropes, and in 
falling, my dirk tore the shirt and lightly grazed the 
back of the seaman. Before I could regain my feet, 
the Quarter Master was below, and the word passed 
lilvc wildfire through the ship, that there was a mad 
midshipman on deck. ISTo one ventured up until the 
dawn dispersed their fears, and perhaps not even in the 



A FIEE OIT SHORE. 13 

midst of a hostile fleet was a ship ever more quiet 
than the Congress throughout the long watches of that 
night. 

At length, our ship was commissioned, and we joy- 
fully collected the stores and commenced in earnest 
our preparations for sea. But we were long detained, 
and, during that period, a thrilling incident occurred 
on shore. 

It was in the latter part of February, and the clouds 
were driven rapidly along the sky, betokening a tem- 
pestuous and a bitter night. The moon gleamed at 
intervals through opening masses of cloud, and the 
keen north-east wind blew fiercely, when the cry of 
''fire!" startled the citizens from their slumber. 

The first glance satisfied each one that no time was 
to be lost, for volumes of smoke and flame were burst- 
ing from a large building in the very centre of the 
town. The rattlinoi: engine and the tumultuous rush 
soon succeeded, for all felt the necessity of exertion. 
An interest deeper than usual was awakened, when it 
became known that the young and widowed Mrs. 
Graham, with a child but a few months old, was ill 
within the house. 

The building was of a peculiar construction, with its 
gable to the street. The lower story was entirely en- 
veloped, and all access to the upper floor was debarred 
by the scorching flame and dense and suffocating smoke. 
There was a painful silence for some moments, when a 
young man, springing from the crowd, exclaimed, 
"This will never do, who'll follow me?" ''Lead on! 
Foster! lead on!" cried half a dozen voices, and the 



14r THE MIDSHIPMAN 

gallant youtli riislied into an adjoining house, followed 
by those who had so promptly promised to second him. 

A few moments sufficed to apprise those without of 
their mode of proceeding, and the dull, crumbling 
sound of the first blow struck against the dividing wall 
by the vigorous arm of Foster, was cheered by an ap- 
proving shout from the multitude. 

In a few moments a sufficient aperture was made, 
and through the illuminated windows the figures of the 
daring fellows were seen hastening in various directions 
in quest of those they sought to rescue. 

" They climb the crackling stair, they burst the door, 
Nor feel their feet glow scorching with the floor. 
Their breath choked gasping with the volumed smoke, 
But still, from room to room their way they broke." 

In a few moments they re-appeared, bearing two 
females, one closely wrapped and tenderly supported, 
the other, a black, wild with affright, borne hurriedly 
along, and convulsively grasping a bundle she carried 
in her arms. 

The throng gathered quickly around, and while con- 
sulting where to shelter them, the mother revived, and, 
true to nature's impulse, her first question was for her 
child. 

" Here it is. Missus," exclaimed the nurse, holding 
out the bundle which she held in her arms. 

Franticly seizing it, with wild and almost maniac 
gestures, piece by piece, the mother tore the coverings 
apart, until she reached the inmost, w^hen a heart- 
rending shriek told that the child was not there! The 



A CHILD IN PERIL. 15 

nurse, stupified by terror, had clutclied tlie bedding 
from the cradle, and left the child behind. 

In an instant, the dreadful truth was known, and 
again was heard the cheering voice of Foster: "Fear 
not, lady, your child shall be restored." 

By his direction, a ladder was procured and planted 
(for one window now afforded the only hope of access), 
and amid the acclamations of the crowd, he passed 
rapidly up and entered the house. 

The moment after, his figure was lost in the dense 
smoke which ascended from beneath through the 
scorching, crisping floor. 

Although these events occurred in less time than it 
has taken to narrate them, the fire had progressed most 
fearfully. As it found food and vent, the flame crept 
on, and the window sills and door frames were now all 
on fire. The paint on one of the top ends of the ladder 
blistered and peeled ofi*; the wood first scorched, then 
crackled and <iharred ; spiral lights now played about 
it, and, suddenly, it was in a blaze. The play of the 
engines was at once directed to it, and some of the 
bystanders endeavored to raise it up, in order that 
the water might have more effect. In the attempt, 
one slipped and let go his hold, and the ladder, falling 
against the wall, broke off about two feet from that end. 
At the same moment, an exulting shout was the signal 
for the engines to cease ; for, blackened and disfigured, 
Foster reappeared at the window, with the child in his 
arms. The united strength of as many as could get 
hold," raised the ladder to its former height, but could 
do no more, for already the clothes of the foremost were 



16 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

scorching from the intensity of the heat. Holding the 
child clear of either side, Foster in vain tried to de- 
scend : as soon as his weight was brought to bear upon 
the ladder, the part unsu2:)ported would give way and 
throw one side uppermost. His situation was now most 
critical. The cornice of the roof, long since enveloped, 
was now swagged in its centre, the flame was bursting 
through the floor, which yawned in chasms to engulf 
him, and the very building toppled with the frequent 
fall of crashing fragments. 

For an instant, he seemed to yield to an agonizing 
impulse, and looked as if he meant to spring from the 
window, and thus preserve the life of tlie child by the 
immolation of his own. The very idea suggested a 
means of escape. 

Amid the din and clamor, his voice was unheard; 
but those without, gathering his meaning from his ges- 
tures, procured a bed, and, holding it uj3, caught the 
child upon it, which was restored unhurt to its mother's 
arms, just as Foster, struck by a falling brand, in the 
effort to recover himself, fell back on the smouldering 
floor, and was never seen again. 

A friend, who was conspicuously active on this oc- 
casion, relates, that, with several others, he remained 
for some time after the fire was arrested, in the hope of 
recovering the body, but that, unsuccessful, he bent his 
steps for home. The day was slowly breaking, dis- 
closing hard ridges of vapor, through which, with sink- 
ing ray, the morning star occasionally glimmered. Tlie 
last engine was rumbling along, dragged by a few men 
and boys, whose slow and slouching gait and soiled 



A wife's distress. 17 

attire bespoke the fatigue of recent toil, when he ob- 
served a group of three persons, two of whom appeared 
to be urging the third to some reluctant measure. 
Tliey had stopped before an unpretending house, and 
were still in low but earnest conversation, when the 
door was thrown open, and a female voice exclaimed, 
"Where is Foster? Oh! Mr. Nesbitt, where is Fos- 
ter?" 

" My dear Madam," replied the gentleman addressed, 
"be not" — but, stifled by his own sensations, he could 
proceed no farther. Tlie downcast eye, the sad de- 
meanor, conveyed the rest, and, wildly clasping her 
hands, the heart-stricken woman gave an agonizing 
shriek, and fell senseless in the door-way. 



CHAPTER II. 

On a balmy day, when a light breeze ruffled the 
water, and onr pennon streamed to seaward, the long- 
expected call was heard, " All hands weigh anchor 
ahoy !" 

The sails were qnickly spread, the anchor was 
aweigh, and with canvas full distended, we sailed past 
the lighthouse, and entered on the broad Atlantic. 
Near the Cape, we met a sister frigate returning from 
a distant cruise, and passing under full sail ; three 
cheers from each, bade welcome to the one, and con- 
veyed good wishes to the other. 

The first night at sea was the most uncomfortable I 
had ever ex23erienced. The sky was heavily over- 
cast ; the atmosphere below decks impregnated with 
the sickening smell of bilgewater, and the ship rolled 
and plunged like a maddened steed, mstinct with 
desperation. 

In a short time, we made the island of Oorvo, the 
north-westernmost of the Azores, and in a few days, 
with a favorable breeze, sailed by the islands of Fayal, 
Pico, and St. George's. Whenever the dispersion of 



MAKE THE LAND. 19 

the mist permitted a view of the land, the scenes were 
invariably picturesque, and Sometimes grand. 

"We now pressed under all sail by the wind, in the 
hope of weathering the northern point of Madeira. 

On the 20th day, we made the latter island right 
ahead, but the wind was so light that our approach 
was gradual, and the atmosphere so hazy as to render 
the land indistinct. The next day, with a pleasant 
breeze, we approached the island very near, when it 
fell calm. 

The scenery of Madeira, by turns picturesque or 
grand, is yet so irregular as often in detached views 
to present the most grotesque appearances. In one 
direction is a peninsula, representing on a gigantic 
scale, the aspect presented by the surface of a sheltered 
lake when it receives the first of the thunder shower ; 
in another, the mountains are so singularly huddled 
as to remind one of a jumbling together of every 
description of steeple, dome, and tower. In our 
approach to the anchorage, we passed a beautiful 
valley formed by a gorge in the mountains ; a church 
on one side, a fortress on the other, a convent near the 
summit, and the intermediate space dotted with innu- 
merable country seats, each surrounded with a patch 
of the most luxuriant vegetation. 

The town of Funchal, the capital of the island, is 
built in the form of an amphitheatre, its base resting 
in the sea, an d^ its arch receding as it rises. It presents 
an imposing aspect, but in reality the streets are steep 
and narrow, and the style of architecture unattractive. 

All the females, and many of the males of the higher 



20 . THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

class, are carried about in sedan chairs, slung on 
poles, and carried by two men eacb. Madeira, for its 
arable ground, is perhaps one of the most productive 
spots in the world. Every niche among the moun- 
tains, the sides of every ravine, and the summit of 
every hill, wherever half an inch of soil can be found, 
is highly cultivated. Places, that in the United States 
would only be traversed by the sportsmen in quest of 
game, are here covered with the luxuriant vine, pen- 
dent from which the grape hangs in innumerable 
tempting clusters. Spots, here and there rendered 
soft and spongy by the oozing from the superincum- 
bent rocks, are made beautifully conspicuous by the 
long, rich, half-melancholy foliage of the banana, its 
straw-colored fruit discernible among the gigantic 
leaves. The very marshes, whose visitors with us 
would be the blackbird and the snipe, whose only 
tenants the discordant frog and hideous snake, are here 
covered with the yam, whose dark green leaves exceed 
in size, but otherwise strongly resemble, the full-grown 
tobacco plant, before it changes its hue. 

It is remarkable of Madeira, that the only insects to 
be seen are a fly and a species of lizard, the latter, it 
is said, serving the poor as an article of food. 

The peasantry are robust and tawny, and their dress 
peculiar; consisting of shirt, trousers, undressed goat- 
skin boots, and a blue conical cap, in shape very much 
resembling an inverted funnel. 

Our stay was too brief to justify a remark on the 
manners and customs of the people, beyond saying 
that the religion is Catholic, as attested by the number 



LEaEND OF MADEIKA. 21 

of convents, and that the country people are humble, 
and apparently pious. Indolence is predominant, and 
the thoroughfares are thronged with beggars. 

The Portuguese live in haughty seclusion, and the 
trade of the island is almost monopolized by the Eng- 
lish. A few of our enterprising countrymen are 
settled here, and by their open-handed hospitality 
cheer the path of the stranger. 

Besides wine, its principal export, this island pro- 
duces rye, maize, wheat, some arrow root, a species of 
bean, and figs, bananas, pine-apples, apples, pears, 
peaches, and a very large, mild-flavored onion. 

Madeira, so named from its former abundance of 
wood, was discovered in the reign of Edward III. of 
England, by Robert Macham, " a squire of low 
degree," who eloped with Ann Dorsey, a noble maid- 
en, and escaping in a small vessel, steered for France. 
But the unfortunate lovers were overtaken by a tem- 
pest which swept them from their course, and whirled 
them on this island, then desert and uninhabited. 
Themselves with difficulty escaping to the shore, their 
bark was dashed to pieces. Here they remained for 
years. A rude tomb and cross erected by the surviving 
lover, tells that his gentle companion perished first, 
but leaves it to the imagination to conceive his lonely 
sorrow and his untended death.^ 

Having recruited the crew and filled up our water, 
we left Madeira. The wind alternately fair or adverse, 

^ Much respecting Madeira has been omitted since reading the excel- 
lent work of General Dix, to which all are referred who wish for accu- 
rate information most agreeably conveyed. 



22 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

more or less propelled us on, until we readied the 
confines of the trade-winds, wiien it fell calm, and the 
surface of the ocean, smooth as a mirror, reflected the 
black and threatening hull, and the tall and tapering 
spars, shrouded with cordage. The sun, untempered 
by the wdnd, scorched with the intensity of his blaze, 
the pitch melted and ran from the seams, the paint 
blistered u]3on the sides, and the resin exuded from the 
pores of the deck. For several fathoms around us, the 
surface of the water was coated with the dust and filth 
thrown into it, and the sea itself, filled with animal- 
culse, became almost j)utrescent. 

For weeks, not a solitary bird fanned the attenuated 
air, and no roaming fish disturbed the slumber of the 
deep. Listless and inactive, on the silent waters, the 
Congress seemed indeed 

" As idle as a painted ship, 
Upon a painted ocean.'^ 

The flour, sugar, molasses, vinegar, and every anti- 
scorbutic was soon exhausted ; the water became of a 
treacle-like consistence, and in the bread, '^ putrefaction 
fermented into life." The dread scurvy soon made its 
appearance, and the easily-indented flesh proclaimed 
that death was preceded by corruption. 

Compelled to quench his thirst with a fluid more 
fetid than that of a stagnant pool, the dying sailor, 
crumbling as he lay, gasped and moaned in his 
agony. Reckless through life, mostly unconsoled by 
the hopes of religion in death, almost unmarked, his 
spirit' obeyed the signal from aloft, and a lifeless mass 



A M(;n'r \r ska. 23 

was all that i-cDuiiiKMl ofllKi once hardy and adventu- 
rous seaman. 

" The sea and liiin in doath, 
We did not dare to sever ; 
It was his home while he had breath, 
'Tis now his rest for ever.'^ 

At length a breeze sj)rung iij), and our sliip cleaved 
with her prow the filthy girdle which environed her, 
and resumed her path upon the deep. 

As we aj^proached the equator, tlie atmoBphere be- 
came humid and oppressive. Alike in calms and 
squalls, we were deluged by frequent rains, compared 
to which the lieaviest showers of our own favored 
clime are as dewdrops lo the overflowing cistern. 

At iii.i;lil, the sea became^ biMlliruilly phosphorescent, 
and the waves, as dashed aside by the advancing 
prow, fell over in curls of flame. Here and there, a 
luminous track l)etrayed the course of the flying dol- 
phin to the rapacious shark, wPiose impetuous rush left 
a broad and S]iarkling wake, which was lost in one 
bright whirl as the destroyer closed ujion his victim. 
Once there was a rushing sound, as a whale disturbed 
in his slumbers floundered for an instant, and then 
through an illumined path phmged deep into the 
recesses of his native element ; while myriads of por- 
poises, the dolphins of antiqidty, 8j)ortively chased each 
other, and darting to and fro, without design or order, 
chequered with lines of light, tlie (hirk, um'nilkMi 
sea. 

As we neared I lie line, the countenances of those 
who lijid before crossed it wore an air of joyous expec- 



24: THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

tation, ludicrously contrasted with, the feigned merri 
ment of others less fortunate, who could not conceal 
their misgivings of the ordeal through which they were 
about to pass. 

The day upon which we crossed the line was pre- 
ceded by a night of surpassing loveliness. In the sky, 
eacfi planet seemed a tiny sun, and each star shone as 
lustrous as a planet. The ocean laid in beautiful 
repose, its heavings so gentle as not to impair the re- 
flection of its mirror-like surface, and the tall ship, 
without advancing, yielded gracefully to the undu- 
lation. 

As the night waned, faint streaks of light tinged the 
dark clouds in the eastern^ horizon. Gradually, the 
hues became brighter and more expanded ; the violet 
became purple, the purple reddened into crimson, and 
suddenly, as from a bed of flame, the sun looked forth 
upon the quiet scene. The serene sky, the placid 
ocean, the soft breath of the morning, and the gorgeous 
sun, were all in keeping with the attributes of their 
Maker ; while our ship, a mere speck upon the waters, 
girdled with iron and prepared for strife, was a fit 
emblem of the frailty and insignificance of man. 

About noon, the ship was hove to, for the purpose 
of receiving the expected visitor. 

As if by magic, a car shaped like a conch, drawn by 
Tritons, and attended by Nereids and monsters of the 
sea, came over the bows, and rolled along the deck. 
"With a loDg and fiowing beard, a crown of sea-weed 
on his head, and a trident in his hand, Neptune sat 
within it, with Amphitrite by his side. 



SHAVING ON THE LINE. 25 

The car stopped when it readied the quarter-deck, 
and salutations were exchanged between Neptune and 
the captain of the ship. A rigid account was then 
demanded of all on board who had never crossed the 
line before. Those who had done so, made due prepa- 
ration, and now the frolic began. The monarch, late so 
imposing in ceremonial, laid his dignity aside, and 
seemed to revel in delight as he looked upon the 
grimaces and contortions of those who were subjected 
to the discipline of his court. The command of the 
ship had been formally surrendered to him, and he 
dispatched his followers in every direction for the un- 
initiated. Few were suffered to escape, for the more 
experienced aided in the search, and with the love of 
mischief peculiar to their class, chuckled, laughed, and 
shouted, as, unmolested themselves, they witnessed the 
desperate but ineffectual struggles of their sliipmates. 

As often happens in life, the most j^atient and en 
during fared the best ; for he who passively submitted 
to the initiatory bath, was often spared the subsequent 
and severe operation of shaving. The refractory were 
not only scraped with a common jack-knife, hacked 
and rusty, but their ears and nostrils, and when they 
attempted to speak, their mouths also, were filled with 
the disgusting lather, and over and over again, they 
were compelled to submit to the filthy embraces of the 
fond Amphitrite. 

The summons to quarters announced at length the 
termination of the reign of misrule, and the resump- 
tion of legitimate authority. 

In this day's frolic, many a dress was spoiled and 
2 



26 ^HE MIDSHIPMAN. 

many a temper ruffled ; and although seemingly all 
was boisterous merriment, frequent occasion was taken 
to gratify an ancient pique, many a rude trick was 
misconstrued, and many a harmless jest was treasured 
in bitter remembrance, long after the circumstance 
which gave it birth had been forgotten. 

The custom of shaving on the line is snrely one 
more honored in the breach than the observance. 

After crossing the line, the atmosphere improved, 
and became so rarified, that the stars were visible at 
the very verge of the horizon. The polar star, with its 
pointers, the wanderer's guide in the northern hemi- 
sphere, gradually disappeared, and others more bril- 
liant, but less endeared by association, rose upon the 
view. 

High up were two luminous bodies, resembling 
fragments of the Milky-way, while lower down, to- 
wards the pole, another of a darker hue was visible. 
They are the wonderful Magellan clouds, which, from 
their position and immovability, are supposed by 
Humboldt to be the reflection of the Cordilleras. 
Among the constellations of this hemisphere, the 
Southern Cross first receives the homage of the North- 
man. 

It is impossible to convey an idea of the night in 
these latitudes, when the sun has gone down enveloped 
in vapors of crimson and gold, and the full-orbed moon 
careers along the cloudless sky, in an ocean of silvery 
liglit. 

Nor is the scene below less brilliant. Far as the eye 
can reach it beholds a sea as of molten silver in a state 



BAY OF RIO JANEIRO. 27 

of ebullition, and the waves severed by the burnished 
keel open in chasms of fire. At snch times, the ship 
seems imbedded in flame, and the light of her brilliant 
wake shadows her masts and cordage, on the surface 
of the sails. 

Such scenes are felt as well as seen, for the soul, 
forgetful of the present, stretches at such times far 
into the recesses of the past, and in its yearning for 
what it feels that it alone can love, seems to grasp 
within its memory, a reminiscence of a prior and purer 
existence. 

In a few weeks we passed Cape Frio, its lofty sum- 
mit covered with mist, and soon after entered the 
spacious and picturesque bay of Eio de Janeiro, in- 
closed by lofty mountains clothed with verdure to their 
summits, and separated by valleys wherein the luxu- 
riant growth of fruit and flowers made the air redo- 
lent of perfume. 

Groves of the orange, citron, and lemon, orchards 
of the plantain and banana, with the wild, abounding 
and delicious guava, some in blossom, and others 
weighed down with fruit, refreshed the eye with their 
varied hues, and almost overpowered the sense by 
their fragrance. 

The palace square which fronts upon the quay, is, 
in the day time, thronged with negroes passing to and 
from the fountains. The slaves so much exceed the 
freemen in number, that the police is necessarily very 
strict, and gangs of the poor wretches are compelled to 
work in chains. The heart sickens at the sight of 
hordes of these unfortunates, almost in a state of 



28 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

nudity, like driven cattle, exposed for inspection 
and sale, and this, too, immediately in front of the 
palace. What a contrast! Within those gates and 
beneath that roof, all is pride, and pomp, and pagean- 
try, and art is strained and nature ransacked to pamper 
the luxurious indulgence of its inmates. Without, 
scorched by the blazing sun, his only garment a filthy 
rag girt about his loins, the fettered slave burdened to 
the utmost capacity of his strength, staggers along, 
with his task-master at his heels. 

The unbeliever may ascribe to chance this great dis- 
parity of condition ; but the Christian, with the eye of 
faith, recognizes the hand, and in submissive piety, 
bows to the dispensations of Providence. He feels, he 
knows, for the records of a Saviour's life confirm it, 
that each state has its trials and its solace ; that the 
slave less favored, is less accountable, and that it is the 
high in rank and the gifted in intellect, from whom the 
most will be exacted. 

As the height and depth of mountains and valleys 
would scarce be discerned by an eye capable of em- 
bracing the whole surface of the earth, so, the inequali- 
ties of human life, transitory and fleeting, are as nothing 
compared with the prospects of a future state. 

Let the poor slave toil on then, humble and submis- 
sive, and he will reap the reward which will be denied 
to the monarch who abuses, or the statesman who be- 
trays his trust. 

The slave-trade is very brisk ; but it is to be hoped 
that the rays of intelligence may penetrate this benight- 
ed land, and repudiate the Machiavelian policy which 



RIO JANEIRO. 29 

teaclies that crime can be conducive to prosperity. 
Every comparison with other countries makes me 
prouder of, and more attached to, my own. With her 
artillery, she first silenced the exactions of the Bar- 
bary powers, and by her w^as dealt the first death- 
blow to the horrid trafiic in human flesh. 

The Brazilian women are by no means prepossessing. 
The men have more regular features, but are short of 
stature, and disposed to be corpulent. They are simple, 
uneducated, and credulous, but kind and charitable, 
and provide so well for their poor, that beggars are 
rarely seen. Unquestionably, the number of convents 
from whence food is gratuitously distributed, is the 
reason why the aid of the stranger is so rarely solicited. 
There are many churches, all richly, but few tastefully 
decorated. The King's chapel is gorgeous in the 
extreme, but the great attraction is the music. The 
choir is composed of eunuchs, and the singing sur- 
passes all I have ever heard. 

A few weeks before our arrival, a princess was born, 
and the rejoicings have not yet terminated. Through- 
out the day, the clang of the bells is incessant, and the 
surrounding hills reverberate the reports of the artil- 
lery, discharged from every ship and fortress. At 
night, the convents throw back the blaze of the illumi- 
nated city, and like a mirror, the harbor reflects the 
myriads of lights which are fancifully interspersed 
among the spars and rigging of the ships of war. On 
the islands and along the shore, in every direction, bon- 
fires are blazing, and from every point is heard the 
whizzing sound of the sinuous and beautiful rocket, 



30 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

which, exploding above and around, like 2, feu de joie^ 
fill the air with their fiery flakes. The sound of music, 
and the shouts of merriment, commingled and wafted 
by the breeze, fall gratefully upon the ear, and soothe 
the lagging hours of watchfulness. 



CHAPTER III. 

With liglit airs from the land, barely sufficient to 
ripple the surface of the water, we slowly sailed from 
the harbor of Eio de Janeiro. Bidding adieu to the 
comforts and delights of shore, and almost to the face 
of civilization, we girded on the armor of endurance for 
a long and perilous voyage. 

We had scarce gained an offing when the wind sub- 
sided, and left us for hours riding helpless in a perfect 
calm. 

With the hot and blistering noon, sprung up the sea 
breeze, cool and refreshing, whose glad coming, long 
before it reached us, was announced by the white foam 
of the leaping, sparkling wave. And now with light 
sails furled and boats secured and all prepared for the 
rude encounters of the sea, we braced our yards to the 
favoring breeze, and shaped our course for India. 

Little of incident occurred to vary the monotony of 
our long and tedious voyage. By way of cheering the 
passage of the dull and lingering hours, the midship- 
men attended school during the forenoon of each day. 



32 THE MIDSHIPMAlSr. 

Sundays excepted ; and in the evenings, when not pre- 
vented by the inclemency of the weather, those exempt 
from duty at the time, assembled together, and by jest 
and tale and song, strove to cheer each other. 

Some of the crew, more dramatic in their taste, 
formed an amnsing Thespian corps, and twice a week 
indulged their shipmates with a theatric exhibition. 
The indulgence of this taste led to an amusing 
incident. 

One of the most intelligent of the corps, also a good 
seaman, was at the helm during the mid -watch of a 
dark and threatening night. The top-gallant yards had 
been sent down, the topsails double reefed, and every 
preparation made for an approaching gale. Huge 
masses of clouds swept along the sky ; the stars here 
and there glimmered through them, and the moon just 
sinking below the horizon, threw a pale and fitful beam 
across the waters : The ship rose and plunged to the fast 
rising sea, and nothing was heard except the angry 
lashing of the waves against her sides, and the shrill 
whistling of the wind through the blocks and cordage. 

The lieutenant in charge of the deck was intently 
observing the weather, and the men of the watch, with 
the ropes in their hands, stood ready to reduce sail at 
a moment's warning, when suddenly letting go the 
helm, the seaman clasped his hands and exclaimed, 
" O Bertha, I adore thee !" 

"What's that?" cried the officer, much startled, and 
springing to his side. "Steady — no higher," said the 
man, who had instantly resumed the helm, and the 
officer, supposing that he had mistaken the usual 



A LIFE-HISTORY. 33 

directions of the helmsman, returned to his post and 
renewed his scrutiny of the weather. 

It is ahnost needless to say, that the seaman had 
been, in foncy, enacting on the stage the character 
assigned to him. 

One sultry night, finding it too oppressive below, I 
left my berth, and laid down in the quarter hammock- 
netting. Everything was so still, that I had fallen 
into a light slumber, when I was awakened by the steps 
and voices of two persons walking to and fro along the 
deck. They were two of the ward-room officers, known 
to be devoted friends, and by far the best beloved of 
all the officers of the ship. I soon heard the eldest say 
to the other, " we are now in the near vicinity of a spot, 
which was the scene of an eventful era in my life." 

"Edward," said his friend, "you have often promised 
me the history of your life ; there could not be a 
better opportunity than the present one ; I am an idler, 
and you have no watch to-night." 

"Let us be seated," replied the first, "and I will re- 
deem my word." They took their seats on a gun-slide, 
immediately beneath me. I would at once have risen, 
but, in the first place, I had violated an order of tlie 
ship, in making a bed of the hammock-netting ; and 
in the second, there was evidently no anxiety for con- 
cealment, as several of the sailors were lying against 
the gunwale, in hearing distance, if awake. Moreover 
from the character of Mr. T., I felt sure that he 
could say nothing to lessen, the high estimation in 
which he was held. I therefore remained quiet. 
" Of a large family of children," he proceeded to say, 



34: THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

" I am the sole survivor. My father died when I was 
an infant. In my fourteenth year I lost my mother, 
and in the intervening time, one by one, my brothers 
and my only sister, were all swept off by the con- 
sumption, whose victims waste away even while the 
cheek is flushed and the eye brilliant with anticipations 
of renovated health and years of enjoyment. Oh, 
Charles! that you could have seen and known my 
sister, for, in many respects, she resembled your own." 

"For your sake, if not for hers, I should have loved 
her dearly." 

"You could not have helped it, for she was one of 
the purest, gentlest beings that ever lived." 

"Describe her appearance living." 

"It is impossible ; for, graceful as a fawn, and with 
elastic sj)irits, her features, at one moment gleaming 
with hope, at the next subdued in sympathy, were 
changeable as the aspects of a summer cloud, but beau- 
tiful in all their changes, for the light they reflected 
was borrowed from Heaven." 

" Hers, then, was the beauty of expression." 

"Yes, of angelic expression, and jet her countenance 
was exquisitely lovely in repose. It reminded one of 
an inland lake, which, when undisturbed, reflects the 
foliage and the flowers around it ; but, when agitated, 
its crests of foam, its waves brattling on the shore, all 
its wild and shifting beauties, are its own. She died 
on an early summer's morning, the dew-drop yet spark- 
ling on the blade, which, while it bent, it fertilized; 
and the whole earth, in one gush of fragrance, sent up 
its tribute to the Mighty Hand which made it." 



A LIFE-HISTORY. 85 

" Her death was a happy one." 

"Aye! for a spirit, pure and spotless as hers, could 
realize that death has no terrors where life has no re- 
proaches." 

After a slight pause, he proceeded. "Inlessthra 
twelve months, my mother followed her to the grave, 
and the day and the hour, the occasion and the scene, 
are deeply graven in my memory ; but," perceiving 
his friend affected, "I will not distress you with the 
sad recital, although the sorrows of that bitter hour 
were not without their solace ; for, feeling that my loss 
would be her gain, the showers and the sunshine, the 
alternate gloom and brightness of the daj without, 
were typical of my hopes and fears. 

"My patrimony w^as supposed to be considerable, 
and my mother had appointed a distant relative as her 
executor and my guardian. 

"A few weeks found me under the roof of Mr. 
Thornton. The exchange was a sad one. I had left 
the home of mjy infancy, where every familiar object 
was associated with some kindly phrase or act of en- 
dearment, to become a member of an aristocratic 
family, which traced its lineage from England. 

"I could have endured physical privations without 
repining, but, peculiarly sensitive of neglect, was like 
the vine cast from the trunk which had sustained it, 
whose drooping tendrils are swayed to and fro, seeking 
for something whereupon to cling. Repelled by the 
haughty manners of the family, my yearning nature 
found the sympathy it needed in the friendship of Mr. 
Winchester, the private tutor employed by Mr. Thorn- 



36 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

ton. Above all men I have ever seen, he united the 
v^isdom of the serpent with the simplicity of the dove. 
Placed under his tuition, I made rapid progress, he 
v^as pleased to say, not only in the acquisition of know- 
ledge from books, but in that more difficult branch 
which teaches us to analyse our feelings and to know 
ourselves. You remember Dr. Holmes ?" 

"Indeed I do, and esteem him as a valued friend." 

"Well, imagine him a little taller, a shade more 
pensive and somewhat more retii^ing in his manners, 
with an enunciation yet more distinct, and you have 
Mr. Winchester before you." 

"I think I see him, and, with the character you give, 
feel that I could love him, too." 

"Aye, that you would; for his meek exterior con- 
cealed a spirit as incorruptible as that of Brutus, and 
as benevolent as Howard himself. To him, I owe all 
that I am, or can ever hope to be. 

"At that time, politics ran high; Napoleon, the 
great human vulture, w^as gorging himself with the 
blood of nations, and the crimson flag of England 
claimed the empire of the seas. The discordant clamor 
of party strife was loud and vehement, and the whole 
country seemed to vibrate with the throes of political 
convulsion. Warped by his pride of descent, and 
giving the tone to his family, at Mr. Thornton's fireside, 
in all political discussions, the cause of England was 
strenuously maintained. 

"It was here that, as I grew older, I derived the 
greatest benefit from the counsels of Mr. W. A pure 
patriot, without a parade of zeal, he ever upheld the 



A LIFE-HISTOEY. 37 

canse of his country. Pointing out the distinction 
between the governments of Europe and tlie one we 
had ado]3ted, how the former strove to maintain an idle 
and hixurions class in the enjoyment of peculiar privi- 
leges, w^hile the other recognized no difference between 
man and man, he engrafted in me an attachment to 
our institutions, as warm and enduring as his own. 
But for him, I might have imbibed the alien feelings 
of the family with which I was domesticated. 

"About the close of my second year under his tuition, 
news came of the wanton attack upon, and the inglo- 
rious surrender of, the Chesapeake. At Mr. Thornton's 
table that day, much was said of the valor of the Eng- 
lish, and the craven spirit of the Americans. Mr. 
Winchester, mildly but firmly defended his country- 
men, but his opposition provoked such a torrent of 
abuse and such violent denunciations of everything 
pertaining to America, that, interrupting Mr. T. in his 
loudest tirade, he announced his determination of for- 
ever quitting a roof which he considered as the fit 
shelter only of foes and traitors. A violent outbreak 
seemed inevitable, but his calm and lofty demeanor 
quelled the rising storm, and, true to his word, he left 
the next day. 

''After his departure, the last tie which bound me 
to the spot was severed, and I applied to be sent to 
college. To my surprise, Mr. Thornton declined, and 
threw out some vague hints of an unpaid bond and a 
threatened lawsuit, which might involve my whole 
estate. I then asked to be sent elsewhere to school, 
but was again denied. I then determined, hap what 



38 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

miglit, to leave tlie place and make my way to one of 
tlie Atlantic cities, where, in the sanguine spirit of youth^ 
I felt sure of achieving something. Anything was 
preferable to the life then before me. I had read of 
perilous escapes, and, in my inexperience, confounding 
my situation with that of some imaginary captive, and 
fearing a thousand obstacles, I waited impatiently for 
a tempestuous night. It came at last, wild and terrific 
to my heart's content. 

"Throughout the day, the weather had been variable. 
At one time, the tops of the trees were bowed down by 
fitful gusts, while at another, the wind gently sighed 
among the branches, or, dying away calm, everything 
would droop with the oppressive heat. The clouds 
were low, detached, and ragged ; the bold and craggy 
tops of the mountains were wreathed in mist, and the 
same humid vapor filled the chasms and swept down 
the distant slopes. 

"Even before the sun disappeared, his disc became 
lurid, the air seemed to thicken and respiration became 
difficult. The untended cattle went lowino; to their 
pens, and the j^oultry, with discordant noises, hurried 
under cover. About dusk, a dense cloud gathered in 
the northwest, and while the thunder muttered in the 
far-oif mountains, it slowly approached us, the lightning 
playing across it in incessant flashes. Suddenly, like 
the smoke of artillery, a number of jets were thrown 
up from its upper surface, and then a flash, com- 
pared to which those were as artiflcial fireworks 
which had preceded it, blinded the eye, and in- 
stantly, every animate thing shrank with dread, as a 



A LIFE-HISTORY. 39 

most terrific crash pealed upon tlie ear. Tlien came 
the whirl and the roar of the tempest. The spirit of 
the storm was abroad, and " Omnipotence rode on the 
wings of the mighty wind." Huge trees and massive 
fragments of rock were whirled about like gossamer in 
a summer's breeze. An avalanche of rain followed 
the very flood-gates of heaven seeming to have opened 
above us. 

"The long wished-for hour had now arrived, and 
bracing myself to the desperate chance, I seized a bun- 
dle I had prepared, and hurried forth, preferring rather 
to encounter the battling elements, than abide with 
those I could not love. Breasting the driving rain, I 
shouted with exultation at the prospect of achieving 
my own fortunes by my own exertions. Although 
'the live thunder' leaped 4rom clitY to cliff,' and the 
forked lightning almost seethed the brain with its sharp 
and sulphurous fire, I pressed on, regardless of the 
storm, and only fearful of pursuit. 

" For some miles, the road, which ran winding among 
the hills, was overflowed, and each indentation in the 
mountains had become the bed of a foaming torrent^ 
I was obliged to clamber the hill-sides, and spring from 
ledge to ledge across the mad and plunging streams. 
But that I was in full health, buoyant with hope, and 
of an elastic frame, I could never have overcome the 
difiiculties or survived the perils of that night. Once 
or twice, I nearly despaired, but the thought of the 
sneers to which I would be subjected if I returned, 
determined me to persevere. 

"After severe toil, I gained the high road and threw 



40 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

myself down, exhausted. I had rested but a fe^ 
moments, when, borne upon the wind, I heard a loud 
clatter and, now and then, a shrill and piercing shriek* 
Springing to my feet, I gazed anxiously up the road. 
The rain had partially subsided ; a luminous spot in 
the heavens showed the position of the moon, the 
thunder, no longer near, reverberated in the distance, 
and the flashes of lightning, although vivid, were less 
sulphurous and blinding. I could soon distinguish the 
tramp of horses at full speed,- and in an instant after, a 
carriage passed at headlong velocity. The screams I 
had heard satisfied me that there was some one within, 
and I breathlessly hurried after it. 

"A short distance below, the road descended a hill 
and crossed a stream, ordinarily shallow, but now 
doubtless swollen and scarcely fordable. My fears 
were more than confirmed, for, to my dismay, I soon 
found myself up to my armpits in the water. 

" The screams had ceased, and I could hear nothing 
to guide me. Suddenly, through the lurid gleaming 
of the storm, I saw the carriage, which seemed to be 
entangled by a prostrate tree, while the horses, rearing 
and plunging, strove to free themselves from the har- 
ness. With some difiiculty, I swam to it, the lateral 
pressure of the current almost bearing me under. For- 
tunately, I had my hunting-knife with me, and contrived 
to cut the traces and liberate the horses, but not without 
receiving a severe blow from one of them. AVithin the 
carriage, I found a female form, but whether alive or 
dead, in the uncertain light, I could not tell. The 
water was nearly up to the seat, and rising with great 



A LIFE-HISTOEY. 4:1 

rapidity. Bearing the body up, I hesitated what to do. 
With a bruised shoulder, and supporting a lifeless form, 
it would be madness to attempt to swim. Feeling 
about, I discovered that the front panel was a large 
one, and forcing it out, dragged the wet and dripping 
figure through it, and placed her on the driver's seat, 
while I called loudly for help. Almost simultaneously 
with my own, I heard voices shouting up the road, 
and guided by my call, assistance was soon procured, 
and the lady (who had fainted) rescued from her peril- 
ous position. 

"Mr. Stej^hens, a wealthy gentleman, was, with his 
wife, returning from the Springs, and had reached the 
village soon after the storm set in. He had just alight- 
ed, and was holding out his hand to assist Mrs. S. to 
descend, when the horses, terrified by a flash of light- 
ning and the loud peal which succeeded it, ran ofl:' at 
full speed, and the driver, in the eflbrt to recover the 
reins, fell to the ground. 

"Mr. S. expressed so much gratitude, and so fre- 
quently proffered his services to aid me, if he could, 
that, won by his kindness, I confided to him the secret 
of my flight and all my ill-digested plans for the future. 
He listened with deep attention, and endeavored, at 
first, to persuade me to return to my guardian; but, 
finding me resolute, he suggested a mode of enfran- 
chisement, at the bare mention of which, my heart 
fairly leaped for joy. He proposed that I should 
enter the navy; a profession, he remarked, which, 
although little esteemed by the country, would, he felt 
sure, if opportunity offered, win for itself an im.perish- 



42 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

able renown. Informing my guardian of the course 
intended to be pursued, he exerted his influence, and, 
in a short time, procured me an appointment. 

" War was soon after declared, and I was ordered to 
the frigate Constitution, then lying at Annapolis. She 
was commanded, as you know, by Capt. Hull, who, 
with every officer and man on board, was exceedingly 
anxious to get to sea before the enemy should reach 
the Chesapeake in superior force. Our Captain had 
twice ineffectually written to the Secretary of the Navy, 
entreating permission to proceed to sea. At length, he 
called up the Officer of Marines, and said to him, 

" ' Sir, have you no official business which calls you 
to Washington?' 

" 'None, sir,' replied the officer. 

" ' Then you must make some,' said the Captain, and, 
handing him a letter, added, 'you must start so as to 
reach Washington early to-morrow. When you get 
there, let it be your first business to call upon the Sec- 
retary of the Navy, and give him this letter, telling 
him, at the same time, that you will call in three hours 
for a reply. At the expiration of the three hours, be 
sure to take your departure, and I expect you to break- 
fast with me the morning after.' 

"The officer strictly obeyed his instructions. When 
the dilatory Secretary had read the Captain's letter, he 
remarked, ' I am very much occupied at present, sir ; 
but, if you will call in two or three days, I will have 
an answer ready for you.' 

" 'Sir,' rej)licd the officer, 'I am allowed but three 



A LIFE-HISTOEY. 43 

hours in "Washington to see my Colonel, and, at two 
o'clock, I am to start on my return.' 

u i Yery well, sir,' was the reply, and the ofHcer took 
his leave. 

"At two, punctually, he called again, and the Sec- 
retary, somewhat fretted, said, ' Eeally, sir, I have not 
had time to attend to Capt. Hull's letter. Can you not 
wait until to-morrow?' 

" Under my orders, sir, it is impossible." 

" ' Yery well, say to Capt. Hull, that I will write to 
him by mail.' 

" 'Excuse me, sir,' said the officer, 'when I assure 
you that Capt. Hull will be bitterly disappointed if I 
do not take him something from you.' 

" With a gesture of impatience, the Secretary drew 
a sheet of paper to him, and writing a few hurried 
lines, handed the note to the officer. It contained 
these remarkable words : — 

" ' Sir — You will proceed with the Constitution to 
New York, and should you meet any vessels of the 
enemy, you will note it.' 

" It was sufficient— and we immediately weighed 
anchor and stood to sea. A short distance out we 
encountered a squadron of the enemy, and the chase 
that ensued has already become matter of history. 
Of the fatigue we underwent and the extraordinary 
exertions we made, I can give you no idea. For most 
of the time the wind was very light, and at length 
died away in a perfect calm. We then resorted to 
towing and hedging, and with the perspiration stream- 
ing from their brows, our crew toiled manfully without 



44 THE MIDSHIPMAK. 

a murmur. Each one sleeping at his post took his 
meals as he could. At one time the nearest ship, 
towed by all the boats of the squadron, was enabled to 
gain fast upon us. Gradually, too, our pursuers, like 
huge, creeping monsters, seemed all to gain upon us, 
when, at the very crisis of our fate, a breeze sprung 
up. Swinging the ponderous yards to meet its glad 
embrace, we thanked our God, that we were the 
first to feel it. The sails flapped exultingly against the 
masts, and then slowly distending, our noble ship, in* 
all her grace, and pride, and beauty, renewed the race 
she had so nearly lost. With sail on sail, packed wide 
and high, from the bulwarks to the trucks, each ship 
was soon a pyramid of canvas. Behind us was cap- 
tivity or death, before us, freedom and the hope of 
future renown. Judge then with what delight we soon 
perceived that we were leaving our pursuers. The 
wind freshened as the night closed in, and early the 
ensuing day the enemy abandoned the chase as hope- 
less. For sixty hours we toiled unceasingly, and 
human nature had been taxed to its utmost powers of 
endurance. 

" Cut off from New York, our commander determined 
to proceed to Boston. Off Block Island, we spoke an 
American vessel bound in, and by her the Captain 
wrote to the Secretary of the Navy acquainting him 
with his escape, and informing him of his intention 
to proceed to Boston, where he trusted to receive per- 
mission to cruise at sea. 

" We reached the harbor late one evening ; by mid- 
night we had commenced taking in provisions and 



A LIFE-HISTORY. 45 

water, and in twenty-four hours were again ready for sea. 
For three days beyond the time we should have heard 
from "Washington, we were kept in the most anxious 
suspense. All hands were detained on board, except 
the Purser, who, on the arrival of each mail, hurried 
to the post-office. On the third day there did come an 
official letter, but it was addressed to a ward-room 
officer on the subject of his pay. 

" It was then that Capt. Hull took a resolution which 
evinced as much wisdom as moral courage. He knew 
that the cruisers of the enemy swarmed upon our coast, 
and he chafed with desire to encounter one of them. 
He determined to put to sea without orders, and imme- 
diately carried his purpose into execution. 

" We had soon the satisfaction to meet an adversary. 
It was one of the ships of the squadron which had 
chased us. Instead of increasing, we now sought to 
lessen the intervening distance, and as we approached, 
each ship, like a combatant in the arena, partially strip- 
ped herself for the conffict. Under reduced sail, 
leisurely, deliberately, we neared each other. It was 
a moment of intense excitement. England had so long 
styled herself the mistress of the sea, and the arrogance 
of the claim was so lessened by her almost uninter- 
rupted career of victory, that the boldest and most 
sanguine among us admitted the probability of defeat. 
Yet there v^as no shrinking of the nerve, not one 
instant's hesitation of purpose. Our country had sent 
us forth, and in the hour of peril she relied upon us. 
We knew that we might be defeated, but resolved that 
we would not be disgraced. The flag, with the proud 



46 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

vessel whidi bore it, might sink beneath the waves, 
or by one terrific explosion be scattered in shreds and 
fragments upon their snrface, but each one felt that it 
could never be struck to a single adversary. 

" I had thought before that I had some idea of a 
battle, but imagination fell short of the stern reality. 
Men, lately so calm in their demeanor, were wrought 
to the highest pitch of phrensy, and reeking with per- 
spiration and begrimed with powder, as seen through 
the fire and smoke, appeared like infuriated demons. 
The ship reeling like a drunken man, quivered with 
each recoil, but there was no screaming, nor shouting — 
the ministers of death were too earnest for noisy exhi- 
bition, and except the stifled groans of the wounded, 
and the brief, quick words of command, the human 
voice was unheard. 

" You know the result. At the report of the last 
gun in that conflict, as at the blast of the Israelite 
trumpets before Jericho, the walls of British invin- 
cibility fell, like them, too, never to rise again. But 
they are about to relieve the watch ; I will resume my 
tale hereafter." 



CIIATTER ly. 

On tlic tliirty-eiglitli day wc were on tlic meridian 
of the Cape of Good Hope, and passed it on a rolliiij^;, 
monntainous swell, tlic confluent greeting of two mighty 
oceans. Like a cork tossed on a rippling river, we 
floated buoyantly along ; at one moment riding on tlie 
crest of a wave, whicli in another was curling angrily 
above us. Although rearing and plunging like a 
maddened steed, onr gallant shi]), obedient to the 
helm, breasted the surge and rode skilfully on her 
way. 

A few nights after, the freshening wind com])ellcd 
us to shorten sail. Tlie topsails had been reeled and 
hoisted, and the men were returning from aloft, when 
one of the topmen stepped on an unfastened rope, and 
before he could regain his foothold, was by the pitch 
of the ship thrown forward off the yard, and in liis fall 
striking against the inflated surface of the foresail, was 
glanced overboard. The life-buoys were immediately 
cut away, and gratings, coops, and many light articles 
were thrown over the side, in the hope that one at least 
might come within the grasp of a struggling shipmate. 



48 THE MIDSHIPMAiT. 

The ship was brought as near to the wind as safety 
would permit, and, immediately after, the startling 
notes of the drum summoned the crew to quarters, and 
announced the decision of our commander, sustained 
by the observation of all, that the tempestuous sea and 
rising wind, forbade the lowering of a boat. The 
battle-lanterns were lighted fore and aft, look-outs were 
stationed aloft and along the deck, and a dead silence 
prevailed, for every ear listened for the faintest sound, 
and every eye scanned the wild and dreary waste, to 
catch a glimpse of our unfortunate companion. 

"What must have been the feelings of that poor 
wretch when the sound of the familiar drum came 
riding upon the gale, proclaiming that his fears were 
realized, and that for him there was no hope ! When 
the lights streaming through the ports exhibited his 
shipmates on the yards and rigging, their dress distin- 
guishable, and the very anxiety of their countenances 
visible, while himself, the object of so much symj)athy, 
unheard and unseen, although so near, shrieked and 
struggled in his agony. 

Whether he strove to the last, and with the water 
gurgling in his throat sunk senseless and exhausted ; 
or whether with the flight of hope he ceased to battle 
with his fate, can never be known. In darkness and 
amid the roar of elemental strife, he perished. 

Our humane commander lingered for hours, and 
only when the last and faintest ray of hope had become 
extinct, was the order given to bear up and steer the 
appointed course. 

For many days this calamity cast a gloom through- 



NATIVES OF JAVA. 4:9 

out the ship. The tones of hilarity were hnshed ; the 
joyous laugh was unheard, and the ordinary duties 
were carried on in subdued voices, and with a com- 
posed and quiet manner. 

On the sixty-fourth day we made Java Head, a bold 
promontory, the western extremity of the island of 
Java, and marking the entrance of the Straits of 
Sunda. 

Passing up the Straits, we anchored in Anjeer Bay, 
a short distance from Batavia. The land is extremely 
fertile, and the hill sides are covered by lofty and um- 
brageous trees, and the tangled and luxuriant under- 
growth is so interlaced, as almost at high noon to 
exclude the rays of the sun. The mountains in the 
distance are covered with verdure — not the tawny 
verdure of a northern clime, — but the luxuriant green 
of the tropics. 

The natives, as well as the Malays, who resort here 
in great numbers, are copper-colored, and of. light and 
agile frames, a little below the medium size. Their 
eyes and hair, like those of the gypsies, whom in many 
respects they resemble, are coal black ; the former 
sparkling, restless, and sinister in expression ; the 
latter long, coarse, glossy, and luxuriant. Although 
sedate and grave in manner, they are fond of excite- 
ment, and delight in gambling. So deeply absorbed do 
they become in their games of chance, that they are 
often insensible to everything else around them, and will 
stake, not only what little property they possess, but 
their wives, their children, and their very liberty. 
Each community has its peculiar code of honor, 
3 



50 THE MIDSHIPMAK. 

and althongli a Malay will rob, and steal, and murder, 
he serves with inviolate fidelity the master awarded by 
the hazard of the dice. 

The frnits are here various and abundant ; cocoa-nuts, 
pine-apples, custard apples, mangoes, oranges, guavas, 
&c. ; and our crew, thirsty from exclusive salted 
food, and from so long inhaling a saline atmosphere, 
revelled in enjoyment, until sickness, the inevitable 
consequence of excess, warned to forbearance. 

While we laid here, two ships belonging to the Eng- 
lish East India Company, each nearly as large as our 
frigate, and two American ships, all bound for Canton, 
arrived and were received under our convoy. 

As soon as our water was replenished, we got under 
way, and sailed slowly through the Straits, with our 
convoy in company. It was late in the season, and the 
light and baffling winds harassed and alarmed us, for 
they presaged the change of the monsoon, so dreaded 
by navigators of the China sea, which is comparatively 
unknown, and abounds with shoals and sunken rocks. 

Both of the English ships, and one of our own, were 
dull sailors, and although the indications of the weather 
became daily more and more unfavorable, we v\^ere 
compelled to proceed under short and easy sail, rather 
than desert them. 

On the ninth daj^, the weather was perplexing ; the 
wind at one time bellying out the lower sails, at 
another, scarce distending the loftiest. Shortly after 
noon it became so variable, that frequently the vane 
would fly upwards from opposing currents of air. 
The clouds were not gathered as usual into solid masses. 



A HUREICANE. 61 

and did not float in one uniform direction, but in de- 
tached fragments, and with various speed were swept 
hither and thither. The sea-birds screamed discord- 
antly, the air seemed to thicken with the approach of 
darkness, and the night found us, with all sail furled, 
waiting for the coming storm. One black cloud rose 
above the eastern horizon, and beneath it the fretting 
ocean reflected a sickly glare of light. The lurid 
light increased, the spectral cloud seemed to launch 
itself on the water, and then, wdth the speed of the 
lightning, it bore down upon us. Like gossamer, our 
ship was driven before the terrific blast. On, on we 
drove, spar after spar falling with a crash. In breath- 
less terror each one clung to the nearest object ; for it 
seemed as if we were rushing to certain destruc- 
tion. 

The hurricane ceased almost as suddenly as it had 
commenced. The sea, like a panting steed, all cov- 
ered with foam, rose, as the fierce wind which had 
swept it smooth, subsided ; and for hours we pitched 
about on a fast-increasing swell, without a breath of 
air to steady and relieve us. 

About two in the morning the wind again sprung 
up, and at sunrise ourselves and scattered convoy were 
" lying to" in a tremendous gale. 

Yarjang in direction, but unmitigated in its vio- 
lence, the gale continued, and the morning of the 
fourth day found us tossing confusedly upon a tempes- 
tuous sea, our masts strained, the fragments of our 
storm stay-sails fluttering from the bolt-ropes, and the 
"wales" opening with every roll, through which the 



62 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

water rushed with alarming rapidity. In the morning, 
the island of Lnconia, the principal of the Philippines, 
was made upon the lee beam, and the crags of its iron- 
bound coast cut sharp against the rising sun. At the 
same time, the Macclesfield shoals — the most to be 
dreaded in this perilous sea — were, by calculation, 
distant but sixteen miles, and might be within as 
many furlongs. 

At 8 P. M., the captain summoned the commissioned 
sea-officers to a consultation in the cabin, and the 
question was discussed whether it were more advisable 
to continue " lying to," or to attempt to " wear." The 
advocates of the first represented the great danger of 
foundering in the attempt to wear in such a tremen- 
dous sea, and the equal risk, if, providentially, the 
ship wore round, of being dashed upon the shoals. 
Those in favor of wearing, urged the condition of the 
ship, already so overstrained as almost to preclude her 
weathering through the night, and the certainty, if 
she did, of being so embayed with the land as would 
render it absolutely necessary to beach her in the 
morning. 

The consultation was a long and anxious one : the 
result — a determination to seize a favorable opportu- 
nity, and attempt to wear. 

So dreadful was the alternative that it was resolved 
to keep the crew in ignorance, and, for the first time 
in eight-and-forty hours, the watch was set. But the 
hammocks were untouched. Of all that bold and 
hardy crew, not one courted the influence of sleep, 
from which he knew not how soon he might be 



A LEE SHOEE. 53 

roused by the rush of the overwhelming wave, or the 
crash of the ship upon the rocks. 

The position of the ship was now most perilous. 
The sea w^as frightful and the sky appalling. Before 
midnight the tempest fairly howled. Low, ragged 
clouds flitted along the sky ; the moon had gone down, 
and the foaming crests of the waves threw a dull, 
phosphorescent light, which made the scene more 
gloomy. Again, the raging sea, the rock-bound coast, 
and the scattered convoy were distinctly revealed by 
a vivid flash of lightning, instantly succeeded by a 
crashing peal, w^hich was lost amid the angry surge. 

To the red lightning and the loud thunder, succeeded 
the flash and the boom of the minute gun, which each 
ship flred in succession to denote her position to her 
companions. At one time, lifted simultaneously on 
high, each appeared to be riding on a pinnacle of 
foam ; at another, nothing could be seen from our 
deck but a threatening sky above and curling crests 
around us. 

By 1 A. M., the ship had drifted so near the land, 
that the roar of the surf was distinctly audible. One 
liour more and we should be dashed upon the rocks. 
Bracing ourselves to the desperate chance, signal w^as 
made to the convoy, and the order given to wear. The 
good ship, strained and almost water-logged, slowly 
yielded to the helm, w^hen she was arrested by the 
shock of a gigantic w^ave, which, toppling over the 
bulwarks, swept the deck fore and aft. Kocked in 
the trough of the sea, with the waves on each side 



54 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

combing over her, the noble ship seemed doomed to 
destruction. 

At this moment, that startling smnmons, which it is 
believed has never before been heard on board of an 
American man-of-war, resounded along the decks. The 
cry was, '' All hands to save the ship ahoy !" 

The affrighted crew clustered together, and in 
silence prepared to meet their fate. Pride, with every 
earthly feeling, quails at the approach of death ; and 
human respect is forgotten when all human ties are 
about to be sundered. A subordinate ventured a 
suggestion, which his commander adopted. Prepara- 
tions were made for cutting away the mizen mast, and 
a few daring volunteers exposed themselves in the 
weather fore-rigging. The latter proved sufficient, 
and the ship slowly but gradually fell off, until right 
before the wind without a sail, and with breathless 
velocity she scudded under bare poles. The next day 
but three of the convoy were visible. One of the 
Indiamen was never heard of afterwards. She had 
been either dashed upon the rocks, or stranded on the 
shoals, or foundered in the wild and raging sea. 

Like some fierce animal that had been infuriated to 
phrensy, the sea continued to chafe long after the 
lashing wind had subsided. By degrees it moderated, 
and the maddening plunge and heavy roll, were ex- 
changed for a slow and graceful movement on a gentle 
swell. 

We soon made the Ladrone islands, which lie at the 
mouth of Canton river, or, more properly, of that 



STORM SUBSroES. 55 

inlet of the sea into wliicli flows tlie river Pckiang, on 
the banks of which the city of Canton is situated. 
The inliahitants of these islands regard fire as a god 
or a devil, which feeds on dry wood and bites when it 
is touched. 

What a contrast to our position a few days since ! 
Then^ without a stitch of sail, we were tossed to and 
fro on the foaming brine ; at one moment kissing the 
welkin's cheek, at another sunk in the deep abysm. 
Now^ with sail on sail packed wide and high, under a 
cloud of canvas, the beautiful ship presses on ; the 
spray, like fairy fretwork, curling and combing be- 
neath the bow, and the foaming wake sparkling in 
the sun-light, as it closes behind us. 

Tlien^ we liad the forked lightning and the loud 
thunder, the flash of tlie minute-gun, and the roar of 
tlie surf f )r accompaniments. Now^ the unclouded 
vault, the clear horizon, hundreds of fisliing-boats 
skimming about, and the deep blue of \\\q. land in the 
distance enliven and beautify the scene. 

From one of these boats we received a pilot. This 
boat, and it is a specimen of its class, has two masts, 
each bearing a lateen yard, to which a sail is bent, 
composed of pieces of matting stitched together. 
The crew consists of four men and two boys. The 
men are rather below the medium height, but are 
erect and active. Their complexion is a light olive, 
their eyes are small, black, elongated, and drooping at 
the inner angle. Their heads are shaved, witli the 
exception of a long lock growing from the crown, 
which is neatly plaited. Tlieir dress consists of a 



56 THE MIDSHIPMAK. 

short frock or tunic, of black-glazed muslin, and loose 
trowsers. They are without stockings ; and an old 
man, who seems to exert parental authority, alone 
wears shoes. Their hats are of bamboo, very w^ide in 
the brim, and running with a concave curve to an 
abrupt point. They are very sociable, and smoke in- 
cessantly. Their only drink seems to be black tea, 
which is kept warm and taken at all hours, without 
milk or sugar. The cabin is very low, but highly var- 
nished, and the bamboo seats are about the height of 
a lady's footstool. At the farther end of the cabin is 
an altar, gaudily decorated with gold and silver foil. 
The goddess of the shrine is a waxen image, dressed in 
flaunting satin and ribbons. A lamp and " Grhos-stick " 
are burning beside it, and before it are the morning 
ofiferings of the crew, consisting of a cup of tea, some 
ginger, and a little fruit. The Ghos-stick is a species 
of slow match ; with the lamp, it is kept constantly 
burning, and it would presage a dreadful calamity were 
either to be extinguished by accident, or to expire from 
neglect. 

The land, clothed with the universal pine, as we near 
it, presents very much the aj)pearance of our own coast, 
excepting that in some places by gentle slopes, in 
others abruptly from the shore, it rises into hills, 
which, aspiring as they recede, wreathe their bald and 
craggy tops with the mists which float in the distance. 

With the excej)tion of the peculiar equij)ments of 
the boats, the dress and complexion of their crews, and 
the milk-white dolphins playing around us, there is 
much in the aspect of this country to remind us of our 



ASPECT OF THE COITNTRT. 57 

own. The deep and brilliant green which pervades 
the landscapes of Sumatra and Java, is superseded by 
the duller but more wholesome tints of our more tem- 
perate and more happy clime. We came to anchor 
near the island and almost within the shadow of the 
mountain-peak of Lintin, about eighty miles from 
Canton. 



CHAPTEE V. 

Elding at anchor, a short distance in shore of us, 
are several Chinese war-junks, commanded by a Man- 
darin of rank, which are stationed here to prevent smug- 
gling. The largest of them is about six hundred tons 
burthen, shaped like a shoe, and having a high fore- 
castle and poop. It has no figure-head, but an eye 
painted on each bow, from the idea that ships are 
animate things, and that the ocean, even when most 
agitated by storms, is intersected by narrow and intri- 
cate pathways, to deviate from which is certain 
destruction. To all our questions upon the subject, the 
invariable reply was, " No have eye — how can see?" 
These vessels have high bulwarks ; each carries three 
masts which are stayed irregularly, and the sails are of 
fine matting. Their hulls are black with white ports, 
and the masts and spars are painted a variety of colors. 
The stern is crowded with images of hideous aspect, 
and flags and signals of all sizes and colors flutter from 
the mastheads. They carry each six iron guns about 
the calibre of our nine-pounders, secured upon swivels 
amidships. 



THE SMUGGLER. 69 

Having never before seen an American man-of-war, 
the Chinese insist upon it that we are English ; and the 
authorities, actuated by their jealousy of foreigners, 
treat us with great rudeness, and to our intercourse 
with the shore, every impediment short of actual resiet- 
ance is presented. At length, we are ordered to quit 
the country, all supplies of provisions are interdicted, 
and the squadron of junks considerably increased. "We 
are compelled to smuggle fresh provisions for the crew, 
and water, when required, is procured weapon in hand. 
And here the skill of the Chinese boatman is most 
apparent. 

The war-junks, in the form of a crescent, are 
anchored to the east in shore of us. On the opposite 
side of our ship, we always moor the launch. When 
the moon is set or overcast, a Chinese smuggling 
boat comes from the western- side of the bay, standing 
directly for us, in such a manner that our towering 
hull conceals it from the junks in shore. When 
almost upon us, the boat's helm is put " hard down," 
and the boat ranges alongside of the launch, into 
which three or four bullocks are precipitated, and the 
next moment, the smuggler under full sail, is standing 
from us. The slight noise which accompanies the 
transfer, is invariably heard by the vigilant watchmen 
of the fleet. Instantly a rocket is sent up, which, 
before it reaches its full ascent, is followed by others, 
and plain and colored lights are shown along the 
island and in every inlet of the bay. The tumult of a 
hurried chase succeeds, but it is usually fruitless, 



60 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

except that its excitement relieves the tedious mono- 
tony of the watch. 

Our bold smuggler, rendered incautious by success, 
made the attempt one night when it was not suffi- 
ciently dark. A signal was made from the fleet long 
before we could discover anything, and in the endeavor 
to escape, the smuggler most probably shifted his course, 
and endeavored to regain the western shore. But find- 
ing himself intercepted, by a dexterous evolution he 
doubled upon his pursuers, and with a flowing sheet 
and every muscle strained to the oars, bore down 
towards us, evidently with the purpose of claiming our 
protection. The scene at this time was an exciting, 
and but for the sympathies it awakened, a most beau- 
tiful one. The alarm had been communicated not 
only to the adjacent islands, but to the distant main- 
land. The indentations of the shore were defined 
by a continuous line of light, and from various points 
rockets were sent up ; every boat on the river, except 
the smuggler's, hoisted a lantern, and the men-of-war 
were incessantly firing, shouting, and exchanging 
signals with each other. 

As well might Acteon hope to elude the fate 
awarded by Diana ! One of the men-of-war closed 
upon the unfortunate smuggler. We heard the 
grapjDle, the rude chafing of the boats as they ranged 
side by side, and a brief scuffle ; after which a few 
orders were given in a distinct voice, and four or five 
times, at intervals of a few minutes, we heard gurgling 
sounds as if the bowstring were being inflicted. A 
blue light was then burned, the lights were extin- 



MANILLA. 61 

guished, the men-of-war returned to their anchorage, 
and the sentry's cry of " All's well," alone disturbed 
the silence of the night. 

' The city of Canton is well known from the descrip- 
tion of travellers, and the semi-Portugnese town of 
Macao is only celebrated for its cave wherein the 
unfortunate poet Oamoens wrote his Lusiad. 

After the lapse of nearly two months we sailed from 
Lintin, and sj)ent six weeks in search of a fictitious 
shoal, laid down on the equatorial line, and in the 
midst of the Chinese sea. Our men and junior officers 
were very much exposed, sounding at great distances 
from the ship in open boats. 

Unsuccessful and dispirited, with nearly one hun- 
dred of the men on the sick list, we sailed for Manilla, 
the capital city of Luconia, the principal of the Philip- 
pine Islands. Immediately after our arrival, a large 
building on shore was hired for the accommodation of 
the sick, and the Spanish authorities were most con- 
siderate and attentive. 

Manilla is situated on an extensive bay. The city 
proper is surrounded by a high wall, within which 
reside the authorities, the natives of Spain and their 
descendants. The suburbs circling the walls on the 
land side, stretch far to the south and west, and are 
more extensive and more densely populated than the 
city. The houses in the suburbs, with the excep- 
tion of those in the principal streets, are mostly built 
of bamboo, in many places raised on piles within the 
margin of the river. 

In the houses so constructed, the floors consist of 



62 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

bamboo-cane split longitudinally, and laid witb the 
convex side uppermost, leaving a space of half an inch 
between ; which, besides its recommendation for clean- 
liness, keeps the apartments cool from the evaporation 
of the water beneath. A short time previous to our 
arrival, upwards of 4000 huts had been destroyed 
by fire. 

The natives are of a very bright olive complexion, 
slight in figure, and very graceful in their movements. 
Their eyes are dark, full, and expressive, and their 
hair long, black, and luxuriant. They seem friendly 
and inoffensive. 

The principal exports of the island are cotton, rice, 
indigo, tobacco, sugar, tortoise-shell, and grass cloths. 
About 15,000 tons of shipping clear annually from the 
port. A vessel owned in the place is a regular trader to 
Acapulco, whence, like the galleons of old, but no 
longer intercepted by the freebooters of England, she 
bears her rich freight across the vast Pacific Ocean. 
In consequence of the Spaniards having reached the 
Philippines by pursuing a western course, and our- 
selves by steering east, there is a difference in time of 
twenty-four liours, and Monday with us, is celebrated 
as Sunday on shore. 

A short distance from the city is the Prado or Park, 
where, every afternoon, the inhabitants rising from 
their siesta take the air on foot, on horseback, and in 
carriages of every description. On the occasion of our 
first visit, all was glee and joyfuhiess. The breeze 
whicli rippled the bay and gathered coolness from its 
sister element, bore to us the merry laugh of the 



THE VESPER BELL. 63 

pedestrians. The middle classes in their unpretending 
vehicles, and in social converse, passed by at a reason- 
able pace; the gentry and nobility, the parvenu so 
gorgeous and tlie aristocrat severely simple in his 
equipage ; the gay and dashing cavalier and the 
haughty beauty in her pride, swept along, when sud- 
denly, from witliin the walls, came the startling but 
melodious sound of the vesper bell. The transition 
from confused and rapid motion to a state of perfect 
stillness, from the hubbub of a joyous multitude to a 
death-like silence, was instantaneous and impressive. 
Each pedestrian knelt upon the spot where he stood ; 
instinctively, as it were, every liorsc stood still, and 
the riders bowed their uncovered heads. Among 
many thousand beings, nearly the whole population 
of that city, our carriage alone presented an erect and 
covered head, while the hushed multitude breathed the 
vesper prayer. 

On our iirst arrival a similar circmnstance was 
noted, although from our relative position the effect 
was less startling. "We came to anchor about noon, 
with several Spanish sliips and a number of coasters 
lying at various distances from us. A light shower, 
just sufficient to render the sails too damp for furling, 
had caused us to defer doing so until evening. The 
vessels around, after the shower, loosened their sails 
to dry. Near sunset, we called all hands to furl sails, 
and in compliment to us as strangers, the word was 
passed among the vessels of the port, and they pre- 
pared to follow our movements. The sails were clewed 
up, the yards of our own and of all the other vessels 



64: THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

were covered with men, and the bay between the 
shipping and the shore was enlivened by a dozen 
boats passing to and fro ; the Spanish with measured 
stroke to the cadence of a song, and onr own with 
a short, qnick stroke, and nnaccompanied with any 
sonnd except the harsh grating of the oar in the row- 
lock. The men on the yards were in the act of gather- 
ing np the sails when the toll of a bell was heard. 
Instantly, the men aloft in the other ships doffed 
their caps and stood immovable ; the song of the 
rowers was hnshed, and the oars rested from their work, 
our own boats excepted, which swept on with rapid and 
unceasing stroke, and onr men had furled the sails and 
were descending from aloft, when the last sound of the 
bell gave the signal for the others to proceed. 

After having thoroughly recruited, we sailed for 
Canton in company with an English frigate. She was 
literally fir-built, and had been presented to their 
government by the ladies of Liverpool, after which 
city she was ni.med. It was determined to try our 
relative speed, but she was out of sight on the second 
morning, and reached the port of destination before us. 
She was commanded by Sir Francis Collier, the gal- 
lant officer who crowded sail on his ship in a heavy 
gale, and dashing stem on against the chain stretched 
across the harbor of Brest, snapped it asunder, and 
opened a passage for the blockading fleet. 

On the fourth day out, a midshipman of the watch, 
a little after 12 o'clock, was walking to and fro in 
the weather gangway, when he thought that he dis- 
covered something on the water several miles to wind- 



CHINESE RESCUED. 65 

ward. He called the attention of the lientenant of the 
watch, who examined it attentively with his spy-glass? 
and directed him to report to the captain that we had 
made Pedro Branco, a large, isolated rock, on the coast 
of China. 

Under the supposition that we had either overrun 
our reckoning, or been drifted by a strong and favor- 
able current, our course was altered, and we stood 
directly for it. As we neared it, however, we saw 
that it was buoyant, for it rose and fell with the 
swell of the ocean, and we soon perceived human 
figures making wild and frantic gestures. 

It proved to be a large water-tank, built of wood, 
and closely cemented in the seams, but open at the 
top, which floated but a few feet above the surface of 
the water. It contained seven miserable creatures, 
one of whom, an old man, was found lying in the 
bottom, his head propped against one side, and his 
body nearly covered with water, which was coated 
with a fetid slime. The old man died, but the rest by 
slow degrees recovered. They stated that they had 
been a part of the crew of a large Chinese junk, which 
had stranded on a rock about two weeks previous ; 
that the whole crew and passengers escaped in three 
large tanks, of w^hich the largest held about one hun- 
dred, another sixty, and their own twenty-three persons. 
That they drifted about in close proximity until the 
evening of the second day, when a heavy squall 
came up, and after it passed away, they saw nothing 
more of their companions. No doubt the other tanks 



66 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

laden beyond their bnoyant capacity, filled and sank 
with the first rising of the sea. 

These men state that, with the exception of a fish 
and two gnlls caught with a line made of their long 
hair, they have passed the. whole period without a 
morsel of food. But their appearance and their very 
reluctance to converse on the subject, satisfy us that 
they have fed upon each other ; whether upon the 
bodies" of those who died from exhaustion, or the 
flesh of their slaughtered comrades, we cannot tell. 
The rains of heaven, they say, had furnished them 
drink. Such abject love of life I never witnessed. 
They not only kissed the deck when brought over the 
side, but if permitted would have embraced the feet of 
all who stood around them. Their excess of joy was 
natural, for the night before the English frigate 
passed within pistol-shot without perceiving them. 
Om- generous crew raised a handsome subscription for 
them, and when we returned them to their native 
country, they were better off than when they left it. 

Anchored in our old berth, abreast of the island of 
Lintin, with the same monotonous life, came the same 
petty vexations. Compelled to smuggle our fresh 
provisions as heretofore, and to obtain our water with 
a display of force, we patiently await the arrival of the 
store-shi^). At length she arrived and brought tidings 
from home. Except myself, all have received some 
token of remembrance from a relative or 'a friend. 
Tlie way-worn traveller plods cheerily when he thinks 
of the grasp of friendshij) or the embrace of love. 
The moans of the invalid are hushed at the voice of 



PEEPAEE FOE HOSTILITIES. 67 

sympathy, and with renewed hope he quaffs the 
medicine which is tendered by the hand of affection. 
The orphan, like the solitary tree upon an open heath, is 
gnarled and twisted by the wintry wind, stunted in 
growth by an ungenerous soil, and rendered hardy by 
exposure. Who can supply the place of the beloved 
object to the young affections ? I speak not of an 
earth-born passion (in the male breast at least) which, 
with the nuptial rite for its goal, is so often sensual 
and so seldom pure — but of that celestial link which 
binds the parent and the child, that mutual tie of pro- 
tection and dependence, of love mingled with anxiety, 
and of awe intertwined with confidence. In very 
desolation the orphan sailor feels that — 

'^ The hollow oak, it is his home, 
His heritage the sea.'' 

And if with the long lines of massive artillery, the 
deadly musket, the bristling bayonet, the sheen of the 
cutlass, and all the paraphernalia of war ever before 
him, he should lose sympathy with his kind, will it not 
in charity be deemed the result of his position ? 

"We are subjected to unceasing vexations by the 
authorities. The provisions sent to us from the United 
States are denied, and we have sailed up to Bocca 
Tigris (the mouth of the river) and taken a position 
abreast of fort Anav/an, with a determination to force 
the passage, proceed to Whampoa, and take our pro- 
visions vi et armis^ if they be not delivered within a 
specified time. All is bustle and preparation at the 



68 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

fort, and among the men-of-war junks which have fol- 
lowed us, and, reinforced by others from above, assume 
a menacing attitude. We quietly make our prepara- 
tions, and have no fears for the result. The junks we 
could destroy in ten minutes, and although the fort 
mounts upward of 100 heavy guns, if we were not dis- 
abled by their first discharge, we could eifect the 
passage, for the guns are imbedded in stone, and by 
consequence incapable of elevation, depression, or 
range. 

An English frigate once silenced the fort, and passed 
without material injury. It was a night-action, and is 
represented to have been a beautiful sight. Many of 
the Chinese soldiers carried lanterns made of oil 
paper, and when they were dispersed by the tremen- 
dous fire of the ship, it seemed as if a thousand ignes 
fatui were fiitting over the hill. Subsequently, another 
English frigate made the attempt and w^as defeated 
with loss. We do not think that the authorities wil! 
drive us to extremities. Their object is evidently to 
extract money from us, which our commander is very 
properly determined not to suffer. At the last moment, 
finding that we were not to be intimidated, the author- 
ities permitted our provisions to pass down, and we 
have returned to our former anchorage. 

Soon after, we heard of a dreadful massacre of the 
foreigners, including some of our own countrymen, at 
Manilla, and hastened there with all possible expedi- 
tion. The reality exceeded the report in the extent of 
the calamity and the horror of its details. It was thus 
accounted for. For several weeks heavy and unusual 



mSUERECTION AT MANILLA. 69 

rains had fallen, and the river, turbid and swollen, 
overflowed its banks, and innndated the suburbs to the 
very walls of the city. As the waters receded, the 
miasma from decomposing animal and vegetable 
matter impregnated the atmosphere ; added to which, 
the natives, as was their wont, drank the turbid water 
of the river, without filtering or permitting it to settle. 
The consequence was, that the cholera, that direful 
scourge, broke out in a most malignant form, and 
nurtured by the hot, moist atmosphere, reeking with 
effluvia, it raged with virulence, and daily swept hun- 
dreds to the tomb. It is stated on good authority, that 
in one day fifteen hundred perished in the city and 
its suburbs. The ignorant and superstitious natives 
fancied that the foreigners poisoned the air and the 
water by means of impalpable powders. 

A young Frenchman, a physician by profession, had 
benevolently devoted himself to the sick, and went 
from house to house giving advice and adminis- 
tering medicine gratuitously. At one place he left 
medicine to be given at stated times, to three members 
of the family, in various stages of the cholera. The 
moment he left the house, according to a preconcerted 
plan, a dog was made to swallow the whole of the 
medicine. As might have been expected, the dog 
died. The word passed from mouth to mouth, and the 
populace, convinced that the object of the foreigners, 
who had all been active in their charity, was to destroy 
them, raised a vindictive shout and pursued, overtook, 
and murdered the unfortunate Frenchman. Placing 
the ghastly head of their victim upon a pole, they 



70 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

paraded the streets, gaining access of numbers and 
increased confidence at every step, and threatened not 
only the destruction of the strangers but of the Spanisn 
soldiery, and every officer of the government. The 
signal gun was immediately fired, the bells of the 
cathedral pealed the loud alarm, the drawbridge w^as 
hoisted, the portcnllis let down, and the garrison 
hmTied to the ramparts. The broad moat although 
immediately filled with water, would have been but a 
slight impediment to a people w^rought to a pitch of 
frenzy ; but being unprovided with artillery, the high 
walls presented an insuperable barrier. Yenting their 
impotent malice in execrations, the multitude turned 
unmolested aw^ay, for the humane governor would not 
permit a gun to be discharged. 

Like demons goaded to madness, they then roamed 
the streets, and assailing the habitations of the 
foreigners, indiscriminately murdered the inmates. 

The mutilated head, now stiffened with gore, was 
borne from house to house before them, and the demo- 
niac yells and screams proclaimed their purpose in 
advance. 

A large and massive building, solid in its masonry, 
lofty, and seemingly impregnable, for many hours 
withstood them. It had been used as a warehouse by 
a German firm, and to it, as an only shelter, several had 
rushed on the first alarm. The capacious gateway open- 
ing into the court, was secured by a ponderous door, 
sheathed with iron and fretted with innumerable spikes.' 
The windows, mere narrow apertures in the thick 
walls, were protected by large and upright bars of iron. 



A HOrSE ATTACKED. 71 

The roof was tiled, and towered so far above tlie 
adjoining houses as to preclude all access to it. 

The multitude, as it recoiled from its rush against 
the gate, yelled with vindictive fury. In a short time, 
nearly the whole of the native population was gathered 
before it. An ominous silence now succeeded the pre- 
vious uproar, for a consultation was held how to dis- 
lodge the inmates. 

Among the strangers in the city was Mr. "W , 

a midshipman in our navy, and a native of Yir- 
ginia. For the improvement of his health he came 
to Manilla, and had accepted an invitation from our 
mess to return home with us. Himself and the captain 
of an American merchant ship, were concealed a short 
distance from the German warehouse ; and when, from 
the concentration of the people at one point, the 
streets seemed deserted, they rushed out, with the 
purpose of seizing a boat and pulling off for the 
captain's ship, which lay a short distance from the 
landing. Unfortunately, at an angle of a street, they 
were intercepted, and borne in triumph to the square 
in front of the beleaguered building. Their arrival 
was hailed with triumph, and a plan was immediately 
concerted. 

It was proposed to the inmates that the officer 
should be admitted with two of the natives to treat for 
the surrender of the house and the safety of its inhabit- 
ants. Although but a short time in Manilla, Mr. W — 
had acquired enough of the language to comprehend 
the outline of their plan, which, in the full belief of 
his ignorance, was discussed aromid him. When the 



72 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

party within the house had acceded to and were about 
to comply with the proposition, Mr. W, hailed and 
begged them not, telling them that those who were to 
accompany him, would set fire to a quantity of bamboo 
known to be stowed in the lower story, and make their 
escape in the confusion. 

Fortunately, those immediately around Mr. "W., did 
not understand what he was saying in time to interrupt 
him, but when they gathered its purport, their rage 
was unbounded. Himself and his companion were 
stabbed, and hacked, and trampled upon ; their 
heads were struck off, and gory and defaced with dirt, 
were kicked about as footballs amid the yells and 
shrieks and mocking taunts of the vindictive throng. 
The besieged, unable to restrain themselves at the 
harrowing sight, fired a volley into the midst of the 
crowd. Although each ball in all probability proved 
fatal, its effect, instead of intimidating, roused the 
multitude to a higher pitch of frenzy. 

A number of the besiegers, who belonged to the 
native militia, were posted at the windows of the 
houses on the street which ran along the rear of the 
warehouse, from whence volleys were discharged 
whenever any of the besieged were visible through 
the grated windows. Every description of lumber and 
rubbish was piled up in the square in front, and a high 
platform erected, from the summit of which a number 
of marksmen kept a constant fire on the besieged. 
Fiery arrows were also discharged through the aper- 
tures of the windows, and a ladder was procured and 
held perpendicularly against the wall immediately 



THE DEFENCE. 73 

■under one of the first story windows ; and two resolute 
fellows passed np, bearing a rope wdtL. a strong hook 
attached. Ceasing to throw their arrows into this 
window, w^hile it was watched more closely by the 
musqneteers, the besiegers continued an nninterrupted 
discharge into the others. 

The besieged, numbering nine men, and a boy 
thirteen years of age, whose father was then at Can- 
ton, entrusted the management of the defence to a 
German gentlemian named Miiller. He had divided 
his force into two bodies — one consisting of four men, 
to defend the rear ; and himself, with the remaining 
four, and the boy, to the front. Well provided w^ith 
arms, they had not been idle ; but after the first rash 
discharge, hopeless of negotiation, had kept up an 
incessant fire, and killed many of the besiegers. 

Since the erection of the platform, and the posting 
of the musqueteers in front and rear, the besieged 
had been obliged to keep within close shelter, and 
only from time to time, turn suddenly to the windows, 
and discharging their muskets, retreat to immediate 
cover. 

Mr. Miiller had returned from the rear of the building, 
whither he had been drawm by the incessant firing in 
that direction, when, on looking into the first room 
in front, where he had stationed two of his com- 
rades, he found one of them dressing the arm of the 
other, which had been shattered above the elbow. 
The renewed noise without, soon after drew his atten- 
tion to the window, w^hen he perceived the hook raised 
by some one beneath, and inserted between tw^o of the 
4 



74 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

bars. Instantly springing forward, he seized the 
hook, drew it in, and calling upon his nnwonnded 
comrade to assist him, bore the point down against 
the massive sill of the window, and while the mnlti- 
tnde without strained the rope with their exertions, he 
drew a knife, and still stooping, reached his hand 
and severed it. As the hook fell inwards, he sprung 
up exultingly, but it was a fatal movement, for a. 
ball, penetrating his right cheek, passed through the 
opposite temple, and he fell dead upon the floor. 

A second attempt of the besiegers, made with a 
hook and chain, proved more successful, and one of 
the bars was torn from its fastenings. Not to prolong 
a dreadful tale, despite the exertions of the besieged, 
of whom, at length, only three besides the boy re- 
mained unwounded, a suflScient opening was made, 
and the building carried by assault. The man whose 
arm had been shattered and hastily bound, had, in the 
mean time, crawled down into the court, and laid 
down beside the fountain. 

It seems, when the remaining defenders despaired 
of all escape, that, against Ms will — for he was 
bold and spirited — they had pushed the boy out, 
and bade him conceal himself if he could. For some 
time he hesitated what to do, and lingered near the 
door ; but when he heard the besiegers forcing an 
entrance through the window, he instinctively rushed 
down the stair-way. As he gained the court, his eye, 
quickened with the love of life, caught sight of the 
opening to the sewer, which conveyed the filth and 
6urf)lus water to the river. Immediately raising the 



A NOBLE BOY. 75 

grated top, lie was about to let himself down, when he 
saw the poor gentleman bleeding beside the fountain. 
He immediately ran to him, and entreating him to 
save himself, assisted him to reach and descend the 
sewer. ;_ 

Tlie gentleman, almost stunned by the fall, was, in 
turn, urging the boy to hasten, when the latter ex- 
claimed, " Oh, God, they are upon us !" and instantly 
replaced the cover. The next moment he was cut 
down ; but considerate to the last, dragged himself 
across the sewer to conceal it, and as he stiffened, the 
blood which oozed from his wound dripped upon the 
last survivor beneath. 

That poor gentleman remained all night in his 
dreary place of concealment, and when rescued next 
day he was delirious with fever. When we saw him 
he was perfectly well, but his arm had been ampu- 
tated below the shoulder joint. 

One other escaped almost miraculously. He was 
an American gentleman, holding the situation of vice- 
consul of the E-ussian government, and had been 
seized on the first outbreak of the insurrection. As 
his captors were dragging him from a hut into which 
he had fled, one of them perceived an old man lying 
on a mat in the corner in a state of collapse, and 
evidently about to die. He called the attention of his 
comrades to him, and proposed that '' el consulado" 
should be permitted to save his own life if he could 
preserve that of the sick man. The proposition was 
repeated to those without, and the mob, partly from 



76 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

caprice, and in part, perhaps, because the consul had 
long been a resident among them, readily and loudly 
assented. 

Unprovided with medicine, and nnsldlled in its nse 
if he possessed it, Mr. B. was left with the dying 
man. The windows were secured, and an efficient 
guard placed outside, with the strong injunction of 
their comrades as they departed in quest of other 
victims, to kill him if the sick man were not better in 
an hour. 

Left alone with his patient, Mr. B. remained for 
some time in a state of stupor, scarce realizing his 
position. The house was one of those resting on piles, 
and extending a short distance into the river; and 
while he sat brooding over his fate, hew^as roused by 
a splash of water beneath, caused by the sportive 
gambol of fish which had risen to the surface. 

Starting up, he instantly conceived a plan of escape. 
Throwing aside his coat and hat, he hastily assimied 
the cap and tunic of the dying man, and retiring to 
the farther end of the hut, quickly but cautiously 
tore up some of the bamboo flooring, and silently let 
himself into the water. Holding on by one of the 
piles, he perceived another house about thirty yards 
distant, and beyond it many others, extending, in a 
similar manner, into the river. The streets appeared 
to be deserted ; but he knew that if he were to land, 
even to the children his complexion would betray 
him, and an immediate hue-and-cry be raised. Sink- 
ing below the surface, therefore, he dived in the direc- 



FLIGHT AND PURSUIT. 77 

tion of the next house, and rising but a short distance 
from it, was enabled to reach it undetected. 

He had in this manner reached the fifth house, and 
clinging to a pile, was taking breath for another dive, 
when a loud outcry up the river told him that his 
flight WHS discovered. The mouth of the river was 
still half a mile distant, and the alarm spread 
ra]3idly along the shore, the tumult gathering as it 
advanced. Instinctively, and wath an agility which 
the fear of death could alone have imparted, he clam- 
bered up the i^ile, and desperately dashing his 
head through the thin bamboo flooring above, with a 
scarred and bleeding face, gained a foothold in the 
apartment. As he entered, a faint shriek rang in his ear, 
and a female form rushed past, but immediately fell faint- 
ing on the floor. First securing the door, he hastened 
to her assistance, and j^erceived that she held a child 
in her arms. It was a young mother, who, in her 
alarm, had caught the sick child beside which she 
was watching, and endeavored to make her escape. 
The cries of the child, more than any effort of his 
own, soon revived her, and he told his tale, and be- 
sought her sympathy. Wlien did ever man make 
such an appeal in vain ! 

Besides the pursuit along the shore, there were, by 
this time, many canoes upon the river searching the 
banks and among the piles of the houses. Concealing 
as well as slie could the broken appearance of the 
floor, the w^oinan bade him lie down in a hammock 
stretched across the apartment, and throwing a mat over 
him, placed her child ujDon it, and commenced singing 



78 THE MTDSTTTPMAN. 

to it. The Bearch continued for upwards of an lionr. 
Frequently the canoes would be immediately beneath, 
and occasionally some of the pursuers looked in and 
inquired for the fugitive. At sucli times, the kind- 
hearted woman would seemingly lean upon the ham- 
mock to account for the apparent weight it bore. 

In this manner Mr. B. remained concealed until 
nightfiill, his charitable preserver dreading every mo- 
ment tlie return of her liusband, wdio, maddened, she 
said, with the loss of a sister, breathed vengeance 
against the wdiite men. At length, bidding him keep 
perfectly quiet, she slipped out, and shortly returned 
in a canoe. Directed by her, he p]'ocured various 
articles about the house, and descending through the 
aperture made at his entrance, stretched himself at 
length in the boat, in the manner of a corpse, while 
slie spread over him a shroud made of the light grass 
cloth of the country. Pushing out from beneath tlie 
house, she lighted a torch, and placing it at his head, 
drew a black veil over her face, and slowly paddled 
down tlie river, chanting the hymn for the dead. 

They passed umnolested, although frequently ob- 
structed as they neared the mouth of the i-iver, which, 
at this early hour of the night, was crowded with 
small coasting vessels, iishlng-boats, and a great num- 
ber of canoes. 

With the resj)ect for the dead which is character- 
istic of this people, all made way for the death-canoe, 
and many were the expressions of sympathy for the 
seeming widow. 

Now and then a canoe would turn and follow in the 



THE DEATll-OANOE. 79 

wake, its rowers taking* ii]) the monotonous chant. In 
tins main I or, to the great alarm of the poor woman, 
hy tlie time they arrived nearly abreast of the burial- 
ground appropriated to the lower chisses, there were 
no h^ss tlian six canoes in the train. The womim liav- 
ing decided on lier course, slackened lior Rj)eo(l, and 
motioned the others to land before her. She tlien ran 
her boat below tlie rest, and whispering, " Senor, 
save yourself,^' slie sjn'ang to the shore. 

Pretending to slip as she leajx^l, Ibc^ canoe was 
pushed far into the stream, while she disappeared 
behind the bank of the river. 

The supposed corpse^- at the sanu^. moment started 
up, and throwing the torch overboard, struck out vigor- 
ously with ihc. ]);i(l(lh>, wliiU> thc^. beliolders precipi- 
tately fled, crying, " El dhxblo ! El diahh) t;^ 

l>efore we reached Manilla, a mnnhiM* of the ring- 
leaders had been executed, and good ord(M- was ai)|)a- 
rently restored ; but theri^ was great distrust visible in 
the intercourse betwa^en the city and the srd)urbs. 
The governor, in his communication lo our conv- 
mander, confessed his inability to hav(^ ari\^sted the 
tumult at its luMghl., and expressed dee]i n\gret for the 
loss of so many valuable lives, and especially of 
Mid. W. As many of the remains as could be found 
were gathered into a common grave, over which a 
handsome monument, commemorative of the catas- 
tro])he, was ercrtcMh 

The cholera, although now considerably abatcMl, 
would have been considered devastating at its com- 
nu'iicement. Tho number of victims borc^ ns arc^at a 



80 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

proportion as heretofore to the remaining population. 
Fewer were mowed down by the scythe of death, 
because the harvest of life had been previonsly thin- 
ned by the destroyer. The pestilence stealthily glid- 
ing on the water, as it had crept along the shore, was 
borne by sickly airs from the land, and enYeloj)ing ns 
in its folds, one by one garnered its victims. 

The crew became panic-stricken, and resigned them- 
selves to the most gloomy forebodings. 

We had sailed unexpectedly from Canton, and be- 
ing bound for the United States, it was necessary to 
replenish our water in Manilla. 

By the evening of the third day, this had been com- 
pleted, and it was determined to sail early the next 
morning. But about 10 P. M., one of our most 
valuable petty officers was attacked with the 
cholera, when the order was immediately given to 
weigh anchor. The crew sprung to the capstan bars 
with an alacrity proportioned to the extent of their 
fears, and their exertions were stimulated by the 
means of a second victim. The first died before the 
anchors were secured — the second, before we were 
clear of the land. 

The night was still ; the glassy surface of the bay 
reflected the glimmering lights of the firmament ; the 
islands and shore were mantled in mist, and in the di- 
rection of the city, here and there, within and without 
the walls, was seen a deep red blaze, crested with 
black and sulphureous smoke, indicating the vain 
efforts of man to stay the pestilence. The faint airs 
from the land, so gentle as to elude the sense, imper- 



THE CHOLEEA. 81 

ceptibly wafted us along, and many were the fervent 
aspirations breathed with renovated hope as we gazed 
upon the far-stretching sea. 

When we first entered the port of Manilla, our ship 
was a floating hospital — the lower deck crowded with 
sick, the upper encumbered with invalids. Then, 
we fled from the barren sea, which yielded neither 
food to invigorate, nor fruit to refresh us. Now, flying 
from that shore, on whose luxuriant verdure we had 
gazed with rapture, we looked upon the sea as our 
great physician, and longed to behold its surface 
rufiled with a fresh and wholesome breeze. Our 
prayers were long denied, and day by day the con- 
tagion spread as we drifted, parallel with the land. 

The contagion spread rapidly among the crew already 
debilitated by the heat of the climate and rendered nerv- 
ous by apprehension, and like the sickliest trees of the 
forest, the most timid were the first prostrated. The 
strong became pallid with fear as their less robust com- 
panions fell around them. But even the most vigorous 
did not all escape. Of those who assembled at the even- 
ing meal, sometimes he, whose manly frame and san- 
guine temperament seemed to defy the pestilence, 
would be attacked during the night, and the next 
morning, sewed up in the hammock in which he had 
long been rocked to sleep, his body awaited the rites 
of sepulture. 

The longest day will have an end ; the most perfect 
calm cannot last forever. A heavy cloud gathered in 
the northern board. From the summit of the dense 
embankment, ragged and threatening columns arose, 



82 THE MIDSnirMAN. 

wliicli Bprond along tlic vault, and swept with incon- 
ceivable rapidity towards iiB. 

The scpiall, altlKnigh severe, did not find us unpre- 
pared, and wo had occasion to remember it with gra- 
titude ; for it was the harbinger of a favorable wind, 
which, while it propelled us on our course, ventilated 
the ship, strengthened tlie enfeebled crew, and arrested 
the marcli of the pestilence. 

By the time we reached the Straits of Sunda, we 
had lost but twenty-six men. No more cases were 
reported, and those previously attacked, were mostly 
convalescent. But the wind failed us, and owing to the 
oppressive heat, the frequent rain, and above all, the nox- 
ious exhalations from the swamps of iSumatra, the cho- 
lera, more virulent than ever, reappeared anu>ng us. 

Like a stagnant pool on which innumerable insects 
are playing, the smooth surface of the Straits presented 
nunuM'ous whirls and eddies, denoting the strength of 
the current with which our ship, with every sail spread 
to catch the slightest breath of air, slowly drifted. 
The lower sails hung listless from the yards ; tlie upper 
occasionally flapped as they felt the whisper of a 
breeze. At funereal pace we ]n'oceeded, performing 
at stated intervals the last sad rites to depai'ted ship- 
mates. Whether in the scorching glare of the noon- 
tide sun, or tlie chunmy (K>\vs of night — whether in 
the sickly haze of twilight, or the stilling mists of the 
morning, each watch buried its dead. The first (pies- 
tion ol* c^ach relief as he assumed his post was, ^' Who 
are gone T 

At one time it seemed as if we were all doomed to 



FLOOD-TTD-E OF THE PlBTn.lONCM, ^'> 

perish. Tl: wan n, dead cnlin. A lea<lon nnsl, lind 
gatlioiXMl nroiiiHl uud ul)<>\(' ns, (*oiic(\'ilini;' I ho wutur 
atid tlio sky ; while tlio HpiU'S und sails, In shadowy 
outlino, bociiumI cxtondcMl beyond llioir propoiliinis. 
It was the H()ud-ti(K^ of iho pOBtllence. 

TTewcaRes l)ecanio more IVeqnentjaiid Ihc^ cries of I ho 
sick for waler were loud and ineeBRant. This hislod 
for upwards of two days, and anions; i,|,o victhns of 
iliai period fell one whose (kalh seeraed a peculiar 
visitation of Providence. 

He was a, boatswain's mate, remarkabhUbi- Ids ob- 
scene profanity. Il(^ had |)oon oiH^. of lhos(^ aitacked 
when tlu^ (diolora- lirsf, made its appearance. Impellod 
by the fear of <loalh, \\r. calicMl upon Cio<l lo Ibroivo 
and spare him, prornisin^-, if his prayers woro h(\ard, 
to h'ad a, different life ; l)nl, 

" Tlic devil was sick, llir devil a saini w<m«I(I l)e, 
'V\h' i\c.\'i\ was well, llje <l(>vil a saiiil was he" 

He recovered, and as if ashamed oi' whai \\c seemed 
to consider a weakness, became worse than over, and 
by his oatlis and imprecations appeared disposed !<» 
prove i\w insincerity of his foi'mor protoslaiions. Ib^ 
iiad frequently been reprimanded by Mie ollicers ; and 
on this oeeasioii, the midshipman in chai'^c^ of Mu*, 
forecastle was so shocked by ins pr<>fa,nily, IhaJ lio 
would nol, j)ernnl, him lo nungle wilJi his watchinafes. 
Ai, nndniii,hl, when Miai watch was relieved, li(^ re- 
tired i;i'nnd)Iin<.'; (o his lianmioeL : Al. four in Ihe 
mornini;-, when thai waieh was a^abi called, he was 



84 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

found a stiffened corpse. He died alone and nn- 
tended. 

The steady cnrrent below, and the light cnrrents of 
air aloft, carried us slowly through the Straits, and, at 
last, with the Island of Java behind ns, our sails 
caught the wholesome breeze, which, untainted by the 
land, sweeps across the Indian ocean. 

In a few days we were driven furiously along, and 
our reduced and enfeebled crew were called upon to 
make unusual exertion to perform the duties of the 
ship. 

My hammock was slung in the after part of the 
gun-deck, and on the morning of the second day out, 
when I awoke, it was blowing a gale of Vv^ind, and the 
deck beneath me was overflowed. On the opposite 
side, lashed to gratings, and floating about with the 
uneasy roll of the ship, were the bodies of six men 
who had died during the night. Dressing in haste, I 
proceeded to the upper deck, and had been there but 
a short time, when a seaman fell from aloft, and strik- 
ing on the hammock rail, dropped dead in the gang- 
way — adding a seventh to our morning burial. 

Repeatedly, a seaman, after taking his meal, and 
ascending to the top, would, within half an hour, be 
lowered dow^n in a state of collapse, and by the expira- 
tion of the watch, be sewed up in his hammock, ready 
for interment. On two occasions besides that of the 
boatswain's mate, men not answering to the muster 
of their watch, were found lifeless in their ham- 
li^ocks. 



CHOLEEA ABATES. 85 

By slow degrees the pestilence abated ; bnt an idea 
of its virulence may be formed, from the fact, that 
from the time we first made Java Head, we had lost 
upwards of seventy men. 



CHAPTER VI. 

A GALE of wind prevented ns from stopping at the 
Cape of Good Hope to replenish onr v^ater ; and a 
strong, favorable breeze indnced our captain to forego 
touching at St. Helena. The last was a great disap- 
pointment to nearly every one on board ; for this iso- 
lated rock had become the final resting-place of Napo- 
leon. But our regret, although soon immeasurably 
enhanced, was light compared to the self-upbraiding 
of our commander. Midway between the island and 
our port of destination, it fell calm, and for one week 
we made not the slightest progress. The crew, con- 
fined for eighty days to salted food, and necessarily 
restricted in the allowance of water, feeble and ema- 
ciated, were soon prepared for another visitation ; and 
a second time since we left the United States, the 
scurvy made its appearance am_ong us. Pervading 
the whole crew, it assumed an aspect so serious that, 
as our small quantity of water diminished, we were 
compelled to increase the individual allowance ; for it 
was now our only antiscorbutic. Immovable and 
helpless, we seemed to ride on a molten sea, with a 



RIO DE JANEIRO. 87 

bronzed sky above tis. In sleep, our parched lips 
drank of imaginary fonntains, and onr waking thongbt 
and closing prayer was for rain ! rain ! rain ! 

He who tempers the wind to the shorn lamb, did 
not try ns beyond our strength, and copious showers, 
and a propitious breeze, soon refreshed and cheered 
us on our way. 

At the expiration of a week, we were lying about fif- 
teen miles distant from the entrance to the harbor of Rio 
de Janeiro, the ship rolling slowly on the unbroken sur- 
face of a light ground swell, while the sails flapped 
against the masts as if impatient for the sea-breeze 
which daily sets in to tem]3er the heat of a tropical sun. 

How strikingly does a ship, and the unfathomable 
element on which she rides, convey the distinction be- 
tween the works of man and his Maker ! The first, a 
progressive series of change, and every change an 
improvement, but constructed of perishable materials, 
is the plaything of the elements, and perhaps will one 
day be engulphed in the capacious bosom of the 
ocean, or, as unworthy of such a burial, be dashed 
into shreds and fragments on the jagged and inhospi- 
table rock. 

The second, like the Great God who made it, sub- 
lime in immensity, incomprehensible in its laws, 
terrific in its frown, and in its favors benignant and 
profuse, is the same now as when, in obedience to the 
Immortal Fiat, " the waters were gathered together, 
and the dry land made to appear." Even the ever- 
lasting hills (as, in the language of finite beings, 
they are termed) must yield to the wide-spread and 



88 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

magnificent ocean, which, comparing great things 
with small, sleeps qniet as an infant, awakes with the 
strength and breathes with the convulsive throes of a 
giant, and when aronsed overwhelms all it encounters 
in indiscriminate ruin. 

Physically speaking, we find everything in and 
about Rio the same as when, two years since, we left 
it. The hills, clothed with the same luxuriant verdure, 
retain their original position — the channel remains 
unchanged, the indentations of the shore unaltered. 
The fortress frowns, and the sullen men-of-war fioat as 
heretofore, and the same chimes are heard from the 
towers, domes, and cupolas of the city and its envi- 
rons. But in a moral, or rather a political sense, a 
great and pleasing change is perceptible. 

The marriage of the Crown Prince with a Princess 
of Austria, retarded the march of liberal principles, and 
on our first arrival here, w^ found but three des^rees of 
civilization. 1st, The slave, scarce with a sense of a 
Superior Being and grovelling in the most abject 
servitude ; 2d, The untitled subject, a little better 
informed, but writhing under his political debasement ; 
and 3d, The court, which ruled with despotic sway. 
But a spirit of inquiry was abroad, which was sedu- 
lously fostered by the foreigners, and a few weeks 
since, the troops assembled in the Public square, and 
with their artillery turned upon the Palace, demanded 
and received a liberal constitution. 

When we were here before, the air was rent with 
shouts and sounds of rejoicing. The fortress shook and 
the massive men-of-war reeled with the recoil of their 



REVOLUTION IJST BRAZIL. 89 

ponderous artillery, but above them, encircled with 
wreaths of smoke, floated the banner of royalty. The 
illiterate, the thoughtless, the poor and the abject, 
rejoiced at the birth of a Princess. 

Now, the bells chime only the honr of prayer ; the 
palace is no longer illuminated, and the boisterous 
shout is unheard ; but from the flag-stafl* of the silent 
fortress and the mast head of the quiet ship, flutters the 
flag of the Constitution. The sense of enjoyment is 
too deep for noisy exhibition, and men greet each 
other with a manly grasp and a smile, which proclaims 
at once a congratulation and a pledge. 

About six months ago a conspiracy was formed, 
which, bold in its object and ingenious in its contri- 
vance, bade fair to expel the last vestige of royalty, and 
ensure to the Brazilians a republican government. 

Carlos del Panfilo, the commander of a Brazilian 
frigate, conceived the daring plan of seizing the King 
and Queen and the Crown Prince and Princess, with 
their infant daughter Donna Maria. His purpose was 
to seize them late at night, and without noise, conduct 
them to the quay in front, where his boats would be in 
waiting, and thence convey them to the ship. Once 
on board, he had little to fear, for there was not a 
man-of-war prepared to pursue him ; moreover, of the 
larger vessels, the Gloria was decidedly the fastest 
sailor. From the forts he had little to apprehend, for 
even if the alarm were given, he need but expose his 
prisoners to deter them from firing. But his object was 
secresy ; for on that, and on expedition, depended his 
whole hope of success. Once clear of the land, he 



90 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

meant to steer his course for the Pacific, and to liberate 
his captives when he heard that his country was free. 
Step by stej) he sounded his officers, and found them, 
with few exceptions, readily disposed to second him. 
The impracticables were so few as not to discourage 
him, and by keeping them on board, under close sur- 
veillance, he prevented their giving information. With 
the men, he had so ingratiated himself, that they were 
ready to stand by him at any hazard. Seven or eight, 
suspicious characters, were kept employed apart from, 
the rest, to whom, indeed, the plan was not fully 
divulged until an hour before its time of execution. 
With the aid of some active friends on shore, he had 
succeeded in bribing a Serjeant of the royal guard, 
who betrayed to him the watchword of the night. The 
word was ffLeopolcLinaj' the Christian name of the 
Crown Princess, 
j The old King and Queen slept in the right and the 
I Crown Prince and Princess in the left wing of the 
palace. Towards the centre on either side were apart- 
ments for the chamberlains, 23ages, and attendants in 
waiting. In the very centre, was a hall, in which two 
sentries were stationed. Without, at the head of the 
stairs, were two long galleries, along each of which, 
also patrolled a sentinel, and on the first landing of 
the great stairway, was another. The stairway ter- 
minated in an extensive hall, occupied at night as a 
guard room. 

Panfilo, as a pretext for landing with his boats at a 
late hour of the night, had given an entertainment on 
board of his ship. It were needless to say that his 



THE CONSPIRACY. 91 

guests were his brother conspirators, and the time sup- 
posed to be passed in festive merriment was emj)loyed 
in silent and anxious preparation. 

About 9 P. M., a notary of distinction, accompanied 
by a grey-headed negro, who halted feebly after him, 
approached the front entrance, and giving the counter- 
sign, demanded to speak with the officer of the guard. 
" Senhor Manuel," he said, when that officer approach- 
ed, " I owe you an apology for disturbing you at this 
hour, for I well know the strictness of your regulations. 
But I appeal to your gallantry to excuse my presump- 
tion. With a large party, I dined to-day at Senhora 
Grijalva's villa. Shortly after rising from the table, 
when the guests were retiring to the siesta, she beck- 
oned me aside, and said to me, ' Senhor Zorga, you 
have ever j)roved a true friend to my family, and 
therefore I feel emboldened to pray your assistance in 
a matter of importance to me ; hereafter I will explain, 
but now time presses, for the shadows of the mountain 
stretch far into the bay, and what I desire must be 
accomplished to-night.' Drawing a packet from her 
bosom, without waiting for a reply, she proceeded to 
say, ' It is most important that this package should be 
given to Dom Alexis Andrade, before he retires to 
rest, and I must have an answer before morning. I 
will not trouble you to deliver it in person, but pray 
you take my butler Gonzalvo along, and direct him 
how to proceed, when you reach the city, so as to see 
Dom A. as soon as possible. Gonzalvo is old and 
feeble, but honest and persevering, and after you have 
put him in the right way, you can leave him to himself. 



92 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

Will you oblige me ? I see that you will, and therefore 
beg that, foregoing the siesta, you will start at once ; 
for the palace gates close, you know, at 8 o'clock.' 

" Thus conjured by a beautiful woman, you will 
admit, Senhor Manuel, that I could not decline. I 
immediately set off for the city, but the mule of Gon- 
zalvo nearly as old and quite and as feeble as himself, 
compelled us to travel much slower than I wished. I 
am just arrived, and pray you will admit my sable 
friend.' 

" Senhor Zorga," replied the officer, " even if I were 
not disposed to oblige a gentleman so distinguished a 
yourself, the name of Senhora Grijalva would be suffi- 
cient, notwithstanding the severity of our regulations ; 
but Dom Pedro gives a concert to-night, and Senhor 
A. will not be in his room for an hour or more, but — 
give me the package, old man, and I will deliver it as 
soon as the concert is over." 

" My good master," said the black, " if it rested 
with Gonzalvo, you should have it at once, but my mis- 
tress told me over and over again, to give it only into 
the hands of Senhor x\.lexis, and that if I could not see 
him, to bring the package back." 

" Ha!" said the officer, " the Senhora is discreet ; 
doubtless a love affair," he whispered to the notary ; 
" well, come in, and you shall be accommodated with a 
seat in the count's anteroom until he arrive." 

The black passed in, and with many thanks, the 
notary courteously took his leave. 

Dragging himself slowly after the soldier sent to 
conduct him, the black threw himself on the floor of 



TIIE SURmiSE. 93 

the room into which he was ushered, and to the sentry- 
stationed at the open door, seemed in a short time to be 
fast asleep. When he had remained several hours in 
this position, he was aroused by the challenge of the 
sentinel, and immediately after, a middle-aged gentle- 
man, gaily and even sumptuously attired, entered the 
apartment. 

" What means this? who is this?" he exclaimed, as 
his eye rested on the black, slowly rising from his 
position. The sentinel briefly explained, and the fea- 
tures of the Count brightened with the thought of a 
successful amour, for he had long sued in vain. 

" Give me the package, old man," he said, " and 
look in yonder beaufet for some refreshment." 

'' Good, my lord — my mistress ordered me not to 
give it in the presence of a third person," and he 
glanced at the sentry in the doorway. 

'' Well, well, her whims are not to be disputed ; 
sentry, close the door." 

With a gesture of impatience at the slowness of the 
black, the Count retired to his bedroom, and by the 
light of a lamp, commenced breaking the seals. The 
envelope was secured by a lock of luxuriant hair, and 
was so intricately folded, that it was some moments 
before he opened the note it contained. The hand- 
writing, unlike the direction, was bold and masculine. 
The words were — 

*' Speak and you are a dead man — Look up !'' 

As the note dropped from his hand, his eye fell 
upon the black who had stealthily crept within a few 



94 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

feet of the table, and with a dagger in one hand and a 
pistol in the other, sternly confronted him. It was 
Panfilo himself, who, in disguise, had assumed the 
most perilous part in his drama. Before the count 
had time to recover himself, he threw a noose over 
him and pinioned him to the chair. With the dagger 
to his throat, he then securely gagged him, and lashed 
chair and all to the ponderous bedstead. He then 
raised the window looking into the inner court, and 
fastened to it one end of a rope-ladder which he drew 
from his body, round which he had worn it. 

Stepping softly into the ante-room, he secured the 
door as well as that of the inner room, and waited 
impatiently for the signal of his comrades beneath. 
Holding the office of Chamberlain to the Prince, the 
apartments of Count Alexis opened into a moderate- 
sized hall, with many doors, leading to the chambers 
of the Prince, the Princess, and their personal at- 
tendants. 

The Serjeant when he betrayed the watchword, had 
received a liberal reward, with the promise of a much 
larger sum, should the attempt prove successful. Elate 
with his present wealth, and rendered generous by 
anticipation of yet greater riches, he invited his com- 
rades to a carousal at his expense. The wine circu- 
lated freely ; and how the party dispersed, he could not 
remember. 

Some time after nightfall, he was awakened by the gal- 
loping of the patrol along the street, and found himself 
lying in tlie open court of a large building. As sensible 
objects became distinct, he saw in a niche beside the 



A soldiek's remoese. 95 

gateway, an image of the Yirgin with the infant 
Saviour in her arms. At the same moment that his 
eyes rested on the placid countenance, which, to his 
disturbed imagination, seemed to look reproachfully, 
his thoughts reverted to the consequences of what he 
had done. Secret assassination, open strife and blood- 
shed in profusion, by turns appalled him, and rushing 
into the street, wdth yet unsteady steps, he sought the 
dwelling of his commander. Sobered by fright, the 
cool night air refreshed him, and as his faculties 
regained their power, he slackened his pace, until he 
stopped in anxious deliberation. " Fool that I was to 
be so cajoled ; if detected, I shall certainly be put to 
death ; and if I inform on myself, to be sent to the 
mines is the least I can expect. What can be done ?" 
A sudden thought occurred to him, and with 
renewed speed he dashed up the street, and entered a 
church on the right. A solitary lamp sus]3ended 
before a magnificent altar, with its faint light gave an 
indistinct idea of the extent of the buildins^. One side 
was nearly obscure ; on the other, the chastened beams 
of the moon played with their soft light among the 
stained glass of the gotliic windows. An old woman, 
reciting her beads, kneeled midway on the pavement : 
a novitiate was prostrate on the lowest step of the 
sanctuary. 

Looking closely round the Serjeant approached 
and whispered to the woman. To his disappoint- 
ment she proved to be deaf, and he then sought 
to attract the attention of the novice. In reply to 
his inquiry for a priest, he was told that the whole 



96 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

fraternity, except a lay brother and himself, were 
absent on a procession to a distant chnrch ; but that in 
the chapel of the Dominican Convent, he would prove 
more successful. 

Seated in a box at the theatre. Col. Salazar was 
intently regarding the performance, when a voice 
whispered in his ear, " Son, follow me, it is a matter 
of life and death !" 

" Holy father !" said the Colonel, " your's should not 
be a garb for mummery." 

" By the womb that bore thee ! — by the God that 
died for us all ! I conjure you to follow me ! A plot 
has been revealed to me in confession ; I cannot betray, 
but may defeat it — there is more than murder, — there 
is treason abroad !" 

At the word " treason," the soldier sprung to the 
door, and hurried forth with the priest. 

After Panfilo had waited an hour or more, his 
quick ear caught the sound of a movement without. 
The apartment commanded a view of the inner court, 
where, instead of his companions, he beheld a body 
of armed men gliding cautiously along. Presently, he 
heard the outer door first tried, then forced, and a 
rush made against the second. 

Aware that all was over, he ran into the hall, and 
threw up the sash. At the same time, a volley was 
discharged by his pursuers, and, pierced with a dozen 
balls, he bounded from the window, and was transfixed 
on the bayonets of a platoon beneath. 

Thus perished this gallant man, as patriotic as he 
was brave, who thought only for his country, and in 



ENGLISH NAVAL OFFICERS. 97 

the execution of his plan, allotted to himself the post 
of greatest danger. 

The officers of the English navy are usnally charged 
with being arrogant and supercilious. I have, as yet, 
had little opportunity of forming a decided opinion, 
but, if future experience confirm my present impres- 
sion, that opinion will be highly favorable. 

When we had been four or five days in port, I went 
on shore with a messmate, to spend an afternoon. 
After wandering about the city, we returned to the 
principal hotel, and had finished our supper, when a 
boisterous party of English naval officers entered the 
apartment. They were in high glee, and had evidently 
been dining out. Calling for champagne, they seemed 
bent upon a frolic, and my friend and myself demanded 
our bill, with the purpose of retiring. Before it could 
be rendered, one of the officers approached, with a 
glass in each hand, and tendering them, said : '' We 
pledge the strangers." His associates were standing 
up, with their glasses filled. It would have been 
rudeness to refuse. As soon as the toast was drunk, 
we rose to depart, but the glasses were immediately 
re-filled, and we were called upon to drink to the 
memory of the gallant Captain Lawrence, late of the 
United States Navy. Neither could we refuse this 
toast, which was drunk standing, and in silence. The 
next toast was " to the memory of Captain Lambert, 
of the Java," and the officer who gave it, added, that 
he hoped his American friends would not hesitate to 
drink to the memory of a gallant enemy, particularly 
6 



98 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

as the brother of Captain Lambert was present. Of 
course we did not, and toast succeeded toast in rapid 
succession — all characterized by the same liberality of 
sentiment. 

We broke up at a late hour, and sauntering through 
the streets arm in arm, in a long line abreast, disturbed 
the citizens with our noisy clamor. From one of the 
houses, we were treated with the indignity of having 
a quantity of water thrown upon us. We immediately 
held a council of war, and it was determined that four 
of the number should take their stand in the middle 
of the street, with their pistols ready to shoot whoever 
should present himself at a window, while the re- 
mainder endeavored to force an entrance. We com- 
menced an assault in earnest, and storming loudly at 
the door, called by every opprobrious epithet upon the 
owner of the house to come forward and receive his 
chastisement. The outcry raised the neighborhood, 
and amid shrieks and loud vociferations, we continued 
to thunder at the portal. An old Brazilian, who, from 
an adjoining house, demanded who we were, received 
a pistol-shot in reply. The ball, shattering a pane of 
glass above his head, drove him precipitately from his 
position. 

The sound of the report had scarce died away in the 
distance, when, clattering over the rough pavement, 
we heard the rapid approach of the patrol. Immedi- 
ately falling back against the house, we presented a 
determined front. We were nine in number. Nearly 
all of us had pistols, and every one a sword. My 
messmate and myself were provided only with the 



THE PATBOL. 99 

latter. The patrol drew up before us, and the abrupt 
question of their leader received a surly reply. The 
commander of the detachment was cool and decided, 
and the order was immediately given — " Patrol 
dismount :" 

Some of the troopers held the horses, while the 
remainder, about twenty in number, slowly marched 
towards us, with their carbines in their hands. As 
they neared us, they suddenly wheeled their flanks 
inwards, and enclosing us in a hollow square, shut out 
the avenues of retreat. But we had not dreamed of 
retreating. The oldest English officer present, who 
had been at Trafalgar, we hastily appointed our leader, 
and my messmate was named the second in command. 

" Boys, are you ready for a rush !" said our leader. 

" All ready," was the reply. 

^' Stand by !" and we bent forward for a desperate 
charge. 

" Hold, gentlemen," said the officer of the guard, 
who had recognized our uniform and suspected our 
condition. " There is some mistake here. Be not 
rash, I pray you — but answer me ; why do I find you 
with arms in your hands, assaulting the house of 
a respectable lady ?" 

"- A lady !" replied our leader ; " do you say that 
this house is occupied by an unprotected female ?" 

''I do ; it is the house of Senhora Gorteza, many 
years a widow." 

" Then we are in the wrong, for we do not war upon 
women. Am. I right, boys ?" 

"We assented, and the officer proceeded to say : 



100 THE MrOSHIPMAN. 

" I would gladly let you pass unmolested, gentlemen, 
but, besides disturbing the whole neighborhood, you 
have rashly endangered the life of a subject, by the 
use of fire-arms. You must surrender at discretion." 

" We'll die first — stand by for a rush!" 

" Hold ! hold !" again exclaimed the oflScer, evidently 
disconcerted and humanely averse to spilling blood. 
" Yield up your arms, give me your names, and 
promise to meet me at eleven, to-morrow, at the 
palace of the minister of justice, and you may pass." 

We consulted together for a few minutes, when our 
leader replied : 

" In the first place, we offer, through you, an 
apology to the lady we have alarmed, but beg her to 
dismiss the servant who provoked us. In the second, 
we will give our names, and appear before our 
respective ministers to-morrow at the hour you have 
appointed, but we will not acknowledge the authority 
of any other country than our own, and will not 
surrender our arms." 

The officer stepped back and conversed a few 
moments with a person in citizen's attire, who had 
just ridden up. Again approaching us, he said : 

" It is sufficient, gentlemen ; we rely upon your 
word." 

We then gave our names, and, completely sobered 
by the transaction, embarked as speedily as possible 
for our respective ships. We faithfully kept our pro- 
mise, the next day, and were severally reprimanded 
by our commanders, and more or less restricted in the 
indulgence of visiting the shore. But, we were not 



A MAIilNE FUNERAL. 101 

unmindful of tlie generous forbearance of the captain 
of the guard. 

Heretofore, sewed up in a hammock, and laid upon 
a plank, the body, alike of officer and man, has been 
launched, with a shot at its feet, to seek a tomb amid 
the dark cayerns of the mightj^ ocean. 

" Low in grotto's of coral they sleep, or on white beds of pearl around, 
And near them forever, the water-snakes creep, and the sea-lion 
guardeth the ground.^' 

Our Lieutenant of marines died yesterday, and we 
are to-day called upon to inter his remains with some- 
thing of military pomp. 

At 2, P. M., the boats pushed off from the various 
men-of-war in the harbor, and slowly approached us. 
At the same time, the body, laid in a plain coffin, was 
passed through a port into the barge alongside, into 
which it w^as followed by the pall-bearers. The re- 
maining boats were successively manned, and at 
the report of a gun, pushed off from the ship. 
Pulling directly abreast for a short distance, the barge 
rested on its oars, while the other boats, thirty-eight 
in number, English, French, Portuguese, and Amer- 
ican, formed in procession. In two lines abreast, the 
barge in the centre, the procession moved slowly, each 
ship, as we successively passed, lowering its flag 
and tolling its bell, until the next took up the melan- 
choly chime. The solemn ruffle of the muffled drum, 
borne on the breeze, was heard at the sequestered 
burial-ground, long before we appeared in sight. The 
marines were first landed, and formed in a double line, 



102 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

facing inwards, through which, the band playing a 
dead march, the seamen, the officers, and the chief 
mourners passed with uncovered heads. As the body 
was borne along, each detachment in succession 
presented arms, not more in deference to the rank of 
the deceased, than in acknowledgment of the majesty 
of mighty death ! 

We had marched in inverse order, the juniors in 
advance, but, when the service was over, and the 
rattling musketry closed the ceremony with the last 
military honors, rank claimed its position, the band 
struck up a lively air, and embarking with speed, the 
boats, which lately moved at funereal pace, now 
dashed rapidly on, each striving to be swiftest in 
the general race. Thus is it with the world ! To-day 
we die, and a few friends, alas, how few ! mourn in 
silence. To-morrow, we are consigned to " lie in cold 
obstruction and to rot," in the dark and mouldy 
grave — and the forgotten worm, which crawled upon 
the surface of the earth, becomes the dainty banquet 
of the scarcely more ephemeral worm beneath it. 



CHAPTEK VII. 

By the first of April, with our stores complete, and 
an invigorated crew, we were prepared for sea, and 
our ex-minister and family were received on board as 
passengers for the United States. The ship was un- 
moored, the top-gallant and royal yards sent aloft, and 
the studding-sail-gear rove. 

The next day, at early dawn, we weighed anchor, 
the capstan-bars bending to the strain of the seamen 
as they kept time to the lively and cheerful tune of 
" Sw^eethearts and Wives." Every sail was spread to 
catch the fickle airs, which, more like zephyrs than a 
steady breeze, were wafted from the land. They 
proved too light to give us steerage way, and our 
boats were lowered, manned, and sent ahead to tow. 
No sooner was this perceived, than, with the courtesy 
which characterized them throughout, the Portuguese, 
French, and English commanders sent their boats to 
assist us. 

The morning was beautiful — ^the bay was serene — 
the air was filled with perfume — the woods and 
groves were alive with carols of the birds — the dew- 
drops glittered in the rays of the rising sun, and 
the summits of the mountains were bathed in a flood 



104 THE MIDSHIPMAlSr. 

of light. The rowers kept time, and the oars kept 
time, and by eight o'clock, with three hearty cheers 
we parted from our friends, hoisted in om- boats, and 
slowly gained an offing with a light, but no longer in- 
constant breeze. 

Standing well to the eastward, directly from the 
land, we cast our fate once more upon the waters, and, 
with alternate slow or rapid pace, traversed the dreary 
ocean. And yet the ocean teems with life ; and to 
the mind of an observer, whether becalmed or career- 
ing before the breeze, or riding on the crest, or pitch- 
ing down the steep of its mighty wave, it tells of the 
majesty, the beneficence, and the terrific wrath of its 
Great Maker. Each drop of water has its animalcule — 
Every bunch of sea-weed bears its colony. The coral 
worm, in its inmost depths, lays the foundations of 
future islands and continents. The heat of the sun is 
tempered by the evaporation it produces, and the in- 
visible vapor, condensed into clouds in the cooler 
regions aloft, is wafted onward, and occasionally pour- 
ing its hoard to slake the thirst of the parched mari- 
ner, descends towards the land, and difiusing as it 
descends, falls in gentle dew to fertilize the soil and 
revive the drooping vegetation. The dolphin, the 
chameleon of its element, betrays, by its variegated 
hues, the dej)th at which it sports beneath the sur- 
face. The shark, rapacious with hunger, rushing upon 
its victim, conveys the idea of ferocious strength ; 
The multitudinous fish are gathered in the open maw 
of the monstrous whale — and man, the monarch of 
creation, by his skill overcomes this giant of the 



STORY OF A SAILOE, 105 

deep, and rocking in the foam of its desperate strug- 
gle, plunges the harpoon deep within its vitals. 

Sometimes, in the silent watches of the night, when, 
in seaman's phrase, all " is asleep aloft'' — in other 
words, when the sails are full, distended by a steady 
breeze, 

" I carelessly lie on the deck, 
And listen in silence to catch 
The wonderful stories of battle or wreck, 
That are told by the men of the watch.'' 

There is an uncouth sentimentality among sailors, 
and they deal much in the pathetic. Besides their own 
adopted sovereign. Mars and Venus are the only 
deities with whom they are acquainted ; and a violent 
death, or successful love, is invariably the doom or 
the reward of their principal characters. Their stories 
usually begin with " One morning in May." The 
hero is a Jack Somers of a tar, just returned from a 
cruise, with his pockets well lined ; and the heroine, " a 
beautiful maid, " with coal-black eyes." Like long 
Tom Coffin, they usually lose their reckoning on shore ; 
but on their appropriate element, their spirits become 
buoyant — they are free and natural, and their inci- 
dents are frequently interesting — sometimes thrilling, 
and very rarely improbable. 

The adventures of Harry Adams, related by him- 
self, differed from all the rest, as well in its tenor as 
the manner of its narration, and made the deepest 
impression on me. He had received a partial educa- 
tion, evidently seen better days, and held a situation 
5^ 



106 THE MEDSHIPMAIT. 

more responsible and less laborious than most of his 
shipmates. 

Of medium height, the frame of Adams indicated 
more activity than strength. His keen, grey eye, nn- 
dimmed by his misfortunes, expressed decision of 
character, and his dark hair fell in untrimmed luxu- 
riance beside his bronzed and weather-beaten features. 
His age could not have exceeded twenty-eight. It 
was told to a few intimates, and with such a tone of 
feeling that I arose, and was walking aft, when he 
said, " Don't go unless you wish it, sir ; I have no ob- 
jection to your hearing me." 

I immediately resumed my position, and he pro- 
ceeded nearly as follows : 

" My father is an Englishman by birth, and a phy- 
sician by profession. He came at an early age to 
America, and settled in ISTew Hampshire. As a gra- 
duate of a foreign university, he soon obtained con- 
siderable practice, and in the second year married the 
daughter of a respectable farmer. He had two sons, 
myself the second, and my mother died in giving 
birth to a daughter. Of that unhappy event I have 
not the slightest recollection, and grew up uncon- 
scious of the deep loss I sustained. Soon after the 
death of my mother, a far off relative, withered by 
age and soured by celibacy, assumed the domestic 
management of the family. Miss Patsy Sawyer, bred 
in a puritanical family, with their self-denying doc- 
trines had imbibed the most parsimonious ideas. 

"Living in a thinly-settled neighborhood, my father's 
circuit was extensive ; and except at night and occa- 



STORY OF A SAILOE. 107 

sionally on Sunday, tie was seldom at home. Some- 
times he would be absent for several days at a time. 
He was of a stern nature, and although his feelings 
were strong, he rarely betrayed them. Rather re- 
pelled than attracted by his manner, we seldom ap- 
proached him, — while he, regulating his demeanor by 
the reports of Miss Sawyer, generally met us with a 
reproof, and took leave of us with a warning. 

" We were governed with despotic sway. At table, 
for the slightest indecorum, we were driven from our 
untasted food. For a heedless laugh, or an ill-timed 
jest, or an infringement of one of the numberless 
regulations, we would be confined to the house, while 
the merry shouts of our schoolmates could be heard 
from the adjoining field. For an unbecoming posture, 
or an irreverent look, we would be sent supperless to 
bed. 

" Thus,' unkindly nurtured, we passed our boyhood, 
and a portion of our youth, when it pleased Provi- 
dence to summon Miss Patsy to account for her stew- 
ardship. My brother George was then a little over 
seventeen, and a student at Cambridge. I was sixteen, 
and my sister one year younger. 

" The harsh treatment endured at home, had ingrafted 
in George and myself a dogged self-will, which we 
could alone oppose to the persevering annoyances of 
the old harridan. But on our sister the unceasing 
espionage, the ever-recurring fretful interposition, had 
a more lamentable effect. She became exceedingly 
timid, and without the slightest confidence in herself, 
depended on others for advice in difiiculty, and for 



108 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

consolation in distress. Both George and myself 
grieved for her mental thraldom ; but we conld do 
little for her. Om^ aunt, as we termed om^ relative, 
seldom permitted Pauline to leave her sight; and 
fearful that we might instil insubordination, regarded 
with peculiar jealousy all intercourse between us. 
Thus our sister grew up under this remorseless sys- 
tem. The precepts of religion were inculcated by ad- 
dressing her fears instead of her understanding and 
her affections, and her mind was only cultivated by 
committing unreasonable tasks to memory, w^hich were 
recited with trepidation amid the reproaches and 
sneers of her amiable kinswoman. And yet w^e loved 
her for her very helplessness ; and when the virago 
was laid in the village, church-yard, we did our utmost 
to retrieve the errors of her education. 

" When George went to the university, Pauline and 
myself became inseparable j for truthful and confid- 
ing, her heart yearned for an object on which to place 
its affections. She was the purest, gentlest, humblest 
creature I have ever known. 

When George had been two years absent, he came 
home to spend a vacation ; and when he returned to col- 
lege, I accompanied him, to which I w^as less reluctant 
from the very great improvement I perceiA^ed in my 
brother. We both parted from Pauline with deep re- 
gret ; for she clung to us — to myself in especial — in all 
the reckless abandonment of grief. Poor girl ! we left 
her sobbing convulsively in my father's arms, his stern 
nature moved almost to tears by her distress. 

" At this time, Pauline was almost a woman. Of 



A FAMILY HISTORY. 109 

the ordinary statnre of her sex, her light, elastic figure 
moved with unconscions grace ; her chesnut hair shaded 
a neck of snowy whiteness ; her brilliant cheek, now 
white as the lily, now mantled with a blush, more 
surely and more rapidly than words, bespoke the cur- 
rent of her feelings ; wliile her deep hazel eyes, bathed 
in liquid crystal, and curtained from the sight by their 
long and fringing lashes, rarely raised and as sud- 
denly withdrawn, struck the beholder with wonder 
and admiration. Beautiful in person, sensitive in her 
feelings, and of a most confiding and affectionate 
nature, she was a being formed for love. 

" Nearly a year previous to my departure for col- 
lege, a young Englishman, named Alford, settled in 
our village, and opening a handsome store, soon be- 
came extensively known. As a countryman, my 
father gladly welcomed him ; and when he found that 
his relatives were respectable, and not unknown to 
him by name, he gave him a cordial invitation to his 
house. When, therefore, on the return of George and 
myself the next year, we found Alford almost domes- 
ticated in the family, and heard Pauline, in reply to 
our inquiries, blushingly confess that they were en- 
gaged, we were not surprised. Indeed, we were 
rather pleased at the fair prospects of our sister. 
Still I determined to watch Alford closely ; and how 
it is I know not, but without being able to assign a 
satisfactory reason, even to myself, I conceived a pre- 
judice against him. 

" I returned alone to Cambridge, George being sent 
at the same time to Kew York to embark in business. 



110 THE MIDSHIPMAInT. 

About three months after, I heard of the wedding, and 
suppressing my prejudices, wrote a congratulatory 
letter both to my sister and her husband. 

" Early the following spring I went to Boston for a 
few days' recreation, and strolling on Long "Wharf 
with a class-mate, we noticed a large ship being towed 
up through the drift-ice by a steamboat. We stood 
looking on until the ship let go an anchor in the 
stream, while the steamer came to the landing with a 
number of passengers from her. With the interest 
we usually feel in gazing on faces from a strange 
land, my companion and myself remained for some 
time looking on. Presently I noticed an elderly gen- 
tleman pointing out to a porter a large trunk with ' 0. 
E., of Ledbury,' marked on the end. It immediately 
occurred to me that Alford had said he was from that 
place. I approached the gentleman as soon as he had 
ceased giving his directions, and asked him if he were 
from Ledbury. He replied that he was. I then asked 
him if he knew a family there by the name of Alford. 
He said that he did very well, and with some eager- 
ness inquired if I knew any one of that name. I told 
him yes ; that a merchant named Henry Alford had 
lately married a relative of mine. 

" ' The scoundrel,' muttered the stranger, ' and he 
has a wife and child at home.' 

Absolutely electrified, I fairly gasped for breath, and 
seizing the arm of the stranger, exclaimed : 

" ' For God's sake tell me if this be so ! Has Henry 
Alford a wife in England ?' 

" ' I am sorry that I said it, young gentleman,' re 



A DISCO VEET. Ill 

plied tlie stranger ; ^ but I cannot now gainsay it. It 
is too true.' 

" ' Sir, yon must prove this, for you speak of the 
husband of my sister.' 

" ' Then come with me, young man, and God for- 
give me for the pain that proof will cause.' 

" He did prove it, alas, too conclusively, and I left 
him in dismay ; but as the figure of my injured sister 
rose to my imagination, the desire of vengeance 
sprung up within me. Hurrying to the nearest livery 
stable, I procured a horse, and started immediately for 
home. Arriving late at night, I proceeded direct to 
one of the parlor windows, which had so often in boy- 
hood been our mode of egress when escaping at night 
for that recreation which had been denied during the 
day. Forcing up the bolt, I opened the shutter, and 
raising the unfastened sash, jumped into the room. 

" When the phrensied excitement in which I left 
Boston subsided, I came to the determination, in the 
first place, to communicate everything to my father, 
that he might take proper measures to send Alford 
away in a manner to avoid suspicion of the cause. It 
was then my purpose to follow him, and avenge my 
sister elsewhere. My father was unfortunately absent ; 
and, as returning from his room I passed my sister's 
chamber, and thought of the scoundred pillowed in 
her chaste embrace, an irresistible impulse overcame 
me ; and exclaiming, ' Yillain ! villain ! double-dyed 
villain !' I rushed against the door and forced it. As 
he sprung from the bed, I clutched him by the throat, 
and in the dark, amid shrieks and screams, we desper- 



112 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

ately struggled. He was fully as strong as myself; 
and, although nearly strangled by my vindictive 
grasp, he fought desperately, and, at one time, by a 
severe blow, caused me to relax my hold. But it was 
for an instant only ; and presently I felt that he was 
giving way. Dashing against him with all my force, 
he fell backwards, with a crash his head struck 
against the corner of the stove, and he tumbled 
heavily upon the floor. Even before he fell I was 
conscious that lights were approaching, and it was 
the fear of interruption, perhaps, which had caused 
me to make the desperate efibrt to overthrow him. In 
a minute my sister, followed by some of the servants, 
rushed into the chamber. She saw me standing with 
my foot upon the throat of him she believed her hus- 
band, while the blood gushed from the wound in his 
head. With one wild shriek she ran to me, pushed 
me with unexpected force aside, and fell senseless 
beside him. The servants urged me to fly. I gazed 
for a moment upon the dying man, imprinted a kiss 
on the cheek of my insensible sister, and left the 

house. 

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ 

" I have never been happy since. There is blood 
upon my hands ; phrenzied with the sense of the deep- 
est wrong, and although I sacrificed another, yet the 
shriek and the hysteric laugh of my poor sister, are for- 
ever ringing in my ear. I tried various occupations, but 
all failed to divert my mind from the horrid scene on 
which it was forever brooding. At length, hearing this 
ship was destined for a long cruise in a sickly climate, 



EMPLOYMENT OF TIME. 113 

in a reckless impatience of life I signed the articles 
which enrolled me among her crew. The first lieute- 
nant finding that I had received the benefits of educa- 
tion, gave me the easy berth I hold. We have gone 
through a great deal of suffering together, and my 
own sorrows have been frequently forgotten in the 
general distress. The afilictions of others have taught 
me to submit patiently to my own ; and for the future 
I will murmur no more, although I can never cease to 
lament." 

As Adams finished, he bowed his head, and burying 
his face in his hands, seemed almost overcome with 
recollections of the past. Feeling that we could offer 
no sympathy to a spirit so bruised, we arose in silence, 
and one by one, left him to brood upon his sorrow. 

Stretching not quite so far to the east as when out_ 
ward bound, we crossed the Equator in 23^ instead of 
18° west longitude, and, by consequence, were less 
detained by calms. To those who were unemployed, 
the passage must have been tedious in the extreme. 
But to us, notwithstanding the yearning for home and 
its enjoyments, our incessant avocations caused the 
time to slip almost imperceptibly by. There was the 
ever-recurring exercise of the great guns, the boarders, 
and the firemen, the periodical setting and relieving 
of the watch, and the perpetual making and shortening 
sail according to the alternations of the weather. The 
last differs from the first not more in its object than its 
mode of execution. Sail was made, or in other words 
more canvas was spread, leisurely as it were, one by 
one, as the gale subsided, or the light and flickering 



114 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

airs strengthened into a breeze. But sail was reduced 
promptly and rapidly, in obedience to the startling 
tones of the anxious and obser\^ant lieutenant of the 
watch. 

The ennui of the passengers and the regular routine 
of our employment were one day diversified by the 
shrill whistle of the boatswain and his mates, whose 
prolonged notes were followed by the hoarse call — 
" All hands witness punishment ahoy !" 
The officers with their side-arms, the marines with 
bayonets fixed, assembled on the quarter-deck. The 
sailors in a dense mass, gathered on the booms and in 
the weather gangway. The culprit, a young mizzen top- 
man, was brought forth, his offence stated, and his 
sentence to the full extent of the law awarded. He 
submitted in silence to his fate, and bore the lash with- 
out a murmur. The justice of his punishment was 
much questioned by us youngsters of the steerage, and 
certainly his crime, if crime it be, is not embraced in 
the articles of war. Love like faith, surely comes by 
inspiration, and whether it be a milkmaid or a goddess, 
a man has a right to worship the object of his affec- 
tions. Poor Lambert had become smitten with one of 
the young lady passengers. He might as well have 
cast his eye upon — 

" a bright particular star, 

And think to wed it." 

And yet, had he not divulged his passion by token 
of presumptuous suit, he might with impunity have 
said — 



MISPLACED LOVE. 115 

" Indian-like, 
Religious in mine error, I adore 
The sun, that looks upon his worshipper, 
But knows of him no more." 

More sentimental tlian discreet, Lambert wrote a 
letter to the young lady, for which he was arraigned 
and punished. 

There is evidently more folly than knavery in the 
transaction. It is a circumstance calculated to excite 
a smile rather than a frown, and provokes to laughter 
in others, rather than the punishment of the offender. 
Under the most severe discipline a private admonition 
would have been more advisable and equally as effica- 
cious as the course adopted. Even in the time of 
Semiramis, a cat might look at a queen. Lambert was 
undoubtedly punished not for feeling, but for impru- 
dently betraying the soft impeachment. 

We begin to look anxiously for indications of the 
land. The higher temperature of the water shows 
that we are in the Gulf stream, and we are diagonally 
crossing it, steering direct for Cape Henry. The 
current buoys under the lee, while with a steady wind 
from northeast, we are sailing two points free at a 
glorious rate. My messmates insist upon it that the 
Norfolk girls have a tow-rope secured to the ship, and 
that they are hauling us in with a speed proportioned to 
their impatience. At 11 P. M., we took a pilot ninety 
miles from the land. The prudent and the phlegmatic, 
aware that much is to be done to-morrow, have retired 
to rest, but the thoughtless and the sanguine are not to 
be enticed from the deck. 



116 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

The night is very different from the one on which 
we took our departure. Far to seaward, the dark 
surface is relieved by the white caps of the waves ; in 
the eastern board, in the midst of a bright space which 
clearly indicates the line of the horizon, the moon ia 
slowly rising ; while to the northwest is a dense cloud, 
its summit catching the first rays of the moon, and 
giving it the appearance of a dark mountain capped 
with snow. In that direction lies tlie land, which, by 
the wise providence of its Maker, receives at night the 
moisture which its sister element has by day emitted. 

Unfortunately, in the morning watch, the wind 
veered, and slackened, and with it, our speed. Those 
who had retired expecting to be aroused at daylight by 
the cheerful cry of " land ho !" awoke to disappointment. 
The morning is foggy, " puffing with wind and rain." 
Still, although the wind be light, it is favorable, and 
with fast increasing impatience, we scan the western 
horizon. Presently, a huge figure shrouded in mist, 
is descried sharp upon the lee bow. A minute more 
its outlines are distinctly visible, and forgetful of disci- 
pline, the shout of hundreds proclaims it to be the 
lighthouse. As we approach it, the fog lifted, and 
the sun shone as through a prismatic curtain upon our 
dear, our native land. The magnificent Chesapeake 
lies before us, its surface dotted with coasting vessels 
which, close hauled, or with flowing sheet, are steering 
for their various destinations. In delightful rivalry we 
strive who can first recognize each feature of the land- 
scape as presented to the view by the progress of the 



MAKING THE LAND. IIT 

ship. At sunset we were anchored in Hampton 
Eoads. 

This last morning broke beautifully. The day is 
bright with the genial rays of an unclouded sun. The 
soft winds of spring are wooing nature to assume her 
green and fragrant livery, and the vegetation, revivified 
by the heat, carpets the earth with its refreshing 
verdure. 

At an early hour, we were again under way, and 
threading the narrow and intricate channel, under 
shortened-sail ; "majestically slow," we passed the 
town, and responded to the loud cheers of our country- 
men congregated on the wharves, by a salute from our 
great guns, whose hoarse and brazen throats made the 
welkin roar. "We cast anchor a little below the Navy 
Yard, and when the sun dipped beneath the horizon, 
the sails were unbent, the running rigging was unrove, 
and down the sturdy topmasts, the shrouds and back- 
stays hung in most admired disorder. 

Here ends the cruise of the Congress ; and in the 
hope one day to tread her deck in battle as firmly and 
successfully as she has borne me through the perils of 
the deep, I close this, my first journal, to cull from 
that which next in the order of time succeeds it. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Lsr the short breathing space allowed between the 
termination of one cruise and the commencement of 
another, I had occasion to visit a distant friend. Tra- 
versing the narrow but fertile tract of western Mary- 
land, towards sunset of the third day, I was seated 
beside the driver of a ricketty stage-coach, w^hich was 
dragged at a snail's pace, up the steep ascent of the 
Alleghany. 

Anxious to reach the summit before the sun had set, 
the road seemed to me interminable. Even the phleg- 
matic driver caught at last a spark of my enthusiasm, 
and while he humanely withheld the lash, cheered his 
jaded team to renewed exertion. Heedless of the 
beetling cliff on one side, and the yawning precipice 
on the other, I thought only of the crowning point 
from whence could be viewed that scene, of which I 
had heard so frequently and so much. 

It has been remarked that high-wrought expectations 
are almost invariably disappointed, and that such dis- 
appointment is usually in proportion to the eagerness 
of the anticipation. Such may be the case with the 
aiiiificial efforts of man, but where is the mind to con- 



A LAND CRUISE. 119 

ceive the sublimity of tlie works of God ! From the 
summit I gazed in silence. The first sensation was 
one of inexpressible awe. The first idea — that a 
mighty ocean, arrested in its wildest throes, lay 
before me, 

" Wave upon wave — as if a boundless ocean, 

By boisterous winds to fierce rebellion given, 
Heard in its wildest moment of commotion 

And stood transfixed at the command of heaven P' 

Although the sun was several diameters above our 
horizon, he had long set to those in the valleys beneath, 
and the bases of the mountains were fast deepening 
into gloom, while their summits were basking in light. 
The immediate base of the high spur upon which we 
stood, was concealed by a girdle of mist, gathered 
many hundred feet below us, while the same humid 
vapor occasionally filled the chasms, or was wreathed 
around the crags, or swept down the slopes of distant 
mountains. 

Standing on the very crest of the mountain, the 
sensation of awe increased as the eye gathered in 
objects distant, and more distant still, until the mind 
was overwhelmed with a sense of its utter insignifi- 
cance. I would as soon attempt with uncircumcised 
lip to inculcate the sublime truths of the gospel, as 
with ungifted pen undertake to describe that magnifi- 
cent and unrivalled scene ! I have seen, and yet hope 
to scale, the peak of Teneriffe. The summit of Mont 
Blanc comes within the scope of my contemplated 
wanderings, and, with the help of God, I trust to look 
into, if I cannot explore, the craters of Vesuvius and 



120 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

Etna ; but I never expect to behold a scene more grand 
and impressive than this which I have long wished to 
view, and now sigh that I must relinquish. 

Usually great fatigue induces sleep so profound that 
the senses are steeped in forgetfulness, and the mind is 
as inert as the body. But the excitement consequent 
upon the scene I had beheld, kept me awake long after 
I had retired to rest; and the following singular 
dream will show that the imaginative faculties were 
in full play long after the will had ceased to control 
them. 

I dreamed that again I stood upon the summit with 
two of my fellow passengers, — an aged man and his 
young grandchild ; and that the deep silence was broken 
by the child saying, " Grandfather, what are you 
crying for ?" 

" I think, my child, of the day of judgment and the 
general doom !" 

Suddenly the wind was hushed — and a voice from 
the still air above was heard, saying, " It is come ! Lo ! 
the ocean of time bringeth its generations to the foot- 
stool of the Redeemer !" The sound of rushing waters 
succeeded, the mountains, except the one upon which 
we stood, sank from the sight, and a dark and troubled 
ocean rolled beneath us. 

In consternation, I turned to my companions, but, 
instead of the old man with his thin grey hair stream- 
ing in the wind, I beheld the irradiate form of the 
Saviour. I fell prostrate to the earth, while the child 
meekly knelt ; and with its tiny hands clasped together, 
gazed fixedly upon that heavenly face, which to my 



SINGULAR VISION. 121 

aching vision, was shrouded by a vapor light as an 
infant's breath, and more dazzling than if woven of the 
rays of the diamond. 

And now the voice was heard to say, " Come 
forth !" and immediately the ocean heaved and swelled, 
until its turbid waters nearly washed our feet, when it 
suddenly receded, and rolling back into the distant 
void, left an immense plain covered with generations 
of men. 

In the van stood the father of men, his lofty port 
chastened with an air which showed that if he had 
sinned, he had also suffered much. Beside him, cling- 
ing for support, as she shrunk from the piercing rays 
of the Godhead, was the unhappy mother of the 
human race. Mute and conscience-stricken, the mul- 
titude, headed by their common parents, slowly ad- 
vanced, when the child in deep and imploring accents 
exclaimed, " Holy One, have mercy ?" 

And the Holy One replied : " Seat thyself before 
me. Thou shalt be endued with the knowledge of the 
Most High ; and by thee, the youngest and last, shall 
the destinies of thy race be determined." 

And the child obeyed, and the multitude advanced, 
and Adam and Eve, in obedience to a signal, passed 
up the mount ; and the Holy One said, '' It is good ! 
They have sinned and have repented. Throughout all 
time their spirits have writhed with the sense of the 
misery entailed upon their offspring. Strict justice 
would condemn, but mercy spares them." 

Then approached Cain, the firstborn, with anguish 
on his brow, but no true repentance in his heart ; and 
6 



122 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

at a shudder from the child, he instinctively turned and 
rushed down the steep, the multitude shrinking from 
the touch of the fratricide. But the simple-minded 
Abel, and many like him, passed up, and stood upon 
the mount. But many more, and far more rapidly 
increasing in number, were those rejected by the 
child. 

'Next came the generations before the advent of the 
Messiah. The Assyrians, Egyptians, and Jews, the 
Arabians, the Medes, the Persians, the Carthaginians, 
the Greeks and the Romans, with countless others, were 
there. 

And Noah first advanced, and the child smiled as 
he ascended the mount. After him some passed up, 
but many took the downward path. Then came 
Abraham, the friend of God, with the once more beau- 
tiful Sarah ; and Melchizedek, the priest of the un- 
bloody sacrifice ; and the laughter-loving Isaac, with 
the meek Rebecca ; the almost too politic Jacob, and 
the chaste and filial Joseph. The sadness which had 
been fast gathering over the face of the child passed 
away, and she welcomed their approach with joy. 

Again that sweet face was overcast ; for now came 
the sceptred line of Pharaoh. He, of the hardened 
heart, the most conspicuous, followed by all the 
swarthy idolators of Egypt. 

Then came Moses, the man beloved of God, and 
Aaron, the chosen High Priest, and the judges and 
kings and prophets, with all the stifi'-necked tribes of 
Israel ; and the effeminate Mede, and the haughty 
Assyrian who destroyed, and the warlike Persian who 



SINGULAR VISION. 123 

rebuilt, tlie temple ; and all received their doom from 
that little child. 

And now approached the apostles and evangelists, 
and followers of the Redeemer; the angelic Mary, 
supported by the beloved disciple and Mary Mag- 
delen. Side by side, too, came the crucified thieves ; 
but he whose revilings had embittered the last mo- 
ments of his Saviour, fell oif, and joined the sons of 
perdition — Herod, who had persecuted, and the con- 
spiring Pharisees, and Pilate who had condemned, 
and Judas who had betrayed his master. Then passed 
up, shouting loud hosannas, the glorious body of mar- 
tyrs, headed by St. Stephen, and the virgins, and 
whole host of saints ; while the dark Tiberius, and 
the blood-thirsty Nero, and all the ensanguined line 
of Csesars, and countless hordes of barbarians, and all 
of the tribes and nations of the earth who had died at 
enmity with their God, were turned in despair towards 
the dark void. And now the voice was heard, say- 
ing: 

" Let their doom be accomplished !" 

And the seething waters of the ocean rolled over, 
and hid them from the sight. 

Scarce were the shrieks and groans hushed to the 
aching ear, when clouds gathered in the sky, and 
the thunder loudly pealed, and the lightning played 
across in incessant flashes. The ocean now grew 
black and thickened, and the lightning struck it, and 
it burst forth in one general conflagration. The 
mountain upon which we stood rocked and reeled. 



124 THE MmSHIPMAjJf. 

and then seemed to be uprooted from its base, and 
to float unscathed npon the burning waters. 

Here I was awakened by my room-mate shaking vio- 
lently one of the bedposts, and bidding me, for God's 
sake rise, for that the woods were all on fire below us. 
The bright light which shone through the uncurtained 
windows, confirmed his intelligence. Dressing in 
haste, we repaired to the yard in front, where we 
found the driver hitching his team, and calling upon 
the passengers to hurry, that he might pass the line 
of fire before it had crossed the road. With the im- 
pertinence of his class, he scofied at the suggestion to 
send a messenger ahead to ascertain if the fire had 
not already crossed ; and we dashed at almost full 
speed down the rapid descent. 

With murmurs and deep misgivings, we saw our- 
selves whirled by the last place where, for many miles, 
the stage could be turned. Ahead, and directly in 
our path, we heard the roaring of the blaze, and the 
sound of falling timber. The air was filled with my- 
riads of sparks, and the burning cinders fell thick 
as the flakes of a snow-storm around us. 

When we reached the upper line of flre, it had not 
crossed, but was fast approaching the road, and the 
heat was intense and almost scorching. The heavy 
crash of a falling tree behind us, made the horses wald 
with terror, and with a peculiar noise like an un- 
earthly shriek, they rushed heiadlong at full speed. I 
threw my arms around the driver to support him, 
while, with his body bent over the foot-board, he bore 
with his whole strength upon the reins. 



WOODS OK FIRE, 125 

The screams and shouts within the stage were soon 
drowned as by the roar of a mighty cataract, and in a 
moment we found ourselves between two walls of fire, 
the flames meeting in fantastic curls in the air above 
us. Fortunately the belt was a narrow one, but before 
we had cleared it, the reins, crisped by the heat, one 
after another snapped asunder, and the horses, unre- 
strained, sped furiously along for a mile or more. 

At a sudden turning of the road the stage was 
upset with a severe shock, and the horses freed by the 
breaking of the axle, rushed on, and were found seve- 
ral hours afterwards lying in a creek, cooling their 
scorched bodies. It was thought that none of them 
would ever be fit for service again. The inside pas- 
sengers, more or less bruised, escaped material injury ; 
but neither the driver nor myself could proceed. "We 
were hospitably received in a farm-house near by, 
where we remained for some days under the soothing 
application of cream to our blistered hands and faces. 

From Wheeling I descended the Ohio, whose limpid 
waters, gliding with a strong, but not impetuous cur- 
rent, have won for it the name of " Beautiful." Our 
steamboat, although large, was crowded ; and I was 
incessantly struck with the difiference between the 
soothing aspect of nature in all her wild luxuriance 
without, and the provision for artificial wants, the 
petty schemes, the clamor and dissatisfaction within 
board. 

" I say, stranger," called out a man to me, as I 
walked the deck; ''Ever been in these parts be- 
fore?" 



126 THE MIDSHIPMAK. 

" No," said I. " This is the first time." 

" Well, ain't this slick ? But only hold on till you 
see the Mississippi ; that'll wake you up, I can tell 
you." 

" Yes," I replied ; " I am told that it is much bolder 
and wider, but then the water is not so clear and 
beautiful." 

" How you talk, stranger ! Why, the Mississippi is 
like a great back-bone, going from one end clean to 
the other ; but this here," said he, pointing to the 
river, " ain't no more than one of the small ribs !" 

Perceiving that the man was an original, I took a 
seat beside him, and soon listened with interest while 
in the racy and peculiar phraseology of the West, he 
recounted some of his adventures. We sat far into 
the night ; and as our huge leviathan swept along, 
sometimes almost grazing the banks, I fancied that 
from within the deep gloom of the dark and bloody 
ground of Kentucky on our left, I occasionally heard 
that terrific war-whoop of which he spoke. 

I have been enabled to write down nearly all of 
what he first related, because, perhaps, simply from 
being the first, it made the deepest impression. 

Rankin (such is the narrator's name) was a sergeant 
in what I think he termed the raised volunteers of 
Ohio, during the last war with England. On one 
occasion, he had been sent with twelve men from the 
main body, to escort a wagon laden with suj)plies for 
one of the smaller posts. The distance was not more 
than twenty-six miles ; and although possible, it was 
scarce deemed probable, that the Indians had pene- 



AN INDIAN AMBUSCADE. 127 

trated within the adyanced posts. Besides the detach- 
ment, his party consisted of the driver, two friendly 
Indians for sconts, and the wife and young child of a 
soldier belonging to the post to which they were 
bound. 

They left the camp about 2 P. M., and made about 
eight miles by dusk, when they halted, intending to 
make an early start, and accomplish their journey the 
next day. But it rained hard during the night, and 
the road was, in consequence, so heavy the next day, 
that they had accom]3lished but fourteen miles, when, 
although yet early, the jaded condition of their teams 
compelled them to halt. By the time that the horses 
v/ere tethered, and the rude supper prepared, the 
scouts came in and reported that there were no signs 
of Indians in the woods. Cheered by the intelligence, 
they seated themselves around the fire, and Rankin 
was leaning forward, helping the woman to some food, 
when a bullet whizzed by his ear, followed in quick 
succession by a sharp report, and a scream from the 
child, which sprang wounded from its mother's arms. 

" To the wagon, men ! to the wagon !" shouted 
Eankin ; " but where are the scouts?" 

"Here they are, sneaking off!" called out one. 

" Shoot them down, the traitors !" 

Several muskets were discharged, and one of the 
scouts fell. The other, evidently wounded, limping as 
he fled, escaped. 

While the party sought cover behind the wagon, the 
woman remained gazing, horror stricken, upon her 
child. After some moments she sprung up, and seiz- 



128 THE MIDSHIPMAlir. 

ing a knife whicli laid beside the imtasted food, heed- 
less of their call, she ran with furious speed towards 
the quarter from whence the fatal ball had sped. As 
she passed a tree, a short distance from the opposite 
side of the road, and in full view from the position of 
the whites, an Indian stepped out, and brained her 
with his tomahawk. Before he could regain his cover, 
however, one of the soldiers levelled his musket and 
fired, and the savage, bounding upwards several feet, 
fell to the earth a corpse. 

The driver, an athletic, swarthy man, seemingly a 
half-bred, had been throughout the journey a silent and 
dull companion. But, on the first alarm, he ran to the 
wagon and commenced searching for his rifle. He 
found it just as the Indian fell, when, with a loud and 
exulting shout, he exclaimed : 

" Well done, soldier ! Well done !" 

Then springing down beside Eankin, he said to 
him: 

" Mr. Sergeant, this will not be a safe place for you 
long. These Indian devils hav'n't shown their usual 
cunning, or they would have begun the attack from 
more points than one. Take to the trees if you wish 
to save a single life." 

" Sergeant !" here called out several soldiers, " the 
Indians are running across the road." 

" To the trees ! Each man a tree for your lives !" 
cried Eankin ; and the whole party rushed into the 
woods. 

After the death of the warrior, except a few inef- 
fectual shots at some of the Indians as they succes- 



AN i:ndian ambuscade. 129 

sively ran across the road, the time was passed in 
silent preparation. Each soldier, behind the tree he 
had selected, fixed his bayonet, picked his flint, and 
drew his cartonch box more in front. 

By the advice of the driver, who seemed familiar 
with the Indian mode of fighting, Eankin extended 
his men, five on each side, in the form of an open 
wedge, while himself bronght up the rear with the 
two remaining soldiers faced the opposite way to 
guard against a surprise from behind. 

Their arrangements completed, as the whole party 
eagerly watched the Indians stealthily flitting from 
the shelter of one tree to that of another, they were 
startled by the cry of the child, which had raised itself 
upon its little hands, and called for its mother. They 
saw it struggle for a few feet, then fall upon its face 
and die. 

"The devils ! The incarnate devils !" exclaimed the 
half-bred ; " Oh, that they would but show them- 
selves !" 

Very soon after, quick as light, he brought his 
weapon to his shoulder, and flred, and an Indian, who 
had just peered from behind a tree, fell dead beside it. 
His fall drew a shout from the soldiers, which was 
answered by a fierce whoop and a general volley from 
the Indians. With the exception of one or two slight 
flesh wounds, the discharge was harmless ; but it 
served to convince the whites that their foes more than 
trebled their number. 

The action now became general, and the woods 
rang with the sharp crack of the rifle, and the louder 
6^ 



130 THE MIDSHIPMAH. 

but less deadly report of the musket. The Indians, 
spreading as they advanced, soon outflanked the 
whites ; and then, gradually closing in, completely 
surrounded them. Already three of the soldiers had 
fallen, and two others were so badly wounded as to be 
unable to use their weapons. The only hope left was 
in retreat, and the remaining survivors rushed to the 
place where the hoi^es were secured. Cutting the 
tethers in all haste, the whites strove to mount, while 
the Indians sprang forward to prevent them. The 
sergeant, and one of the soldiers, succeeded in mount- 
ing a horse, and the half-bred was upon another, help- 
ing one up behind him, when an Indian seized the 
headstall and threw his tomahawk. It struck the 
driver on the temple, peeling it to the bone. In an 
instant he jumped down and clutched his assailant. 
For some moments they struggled desperately, but 
freeing his arm, the driver drew a long knife he 
carried, and plunged it into the savage. 'As he turned 
to mount again, he was pierced by a bullet from 
behind, when, seeming to abandon all hope of escape, 
he staggered forward, brandishing his bloody knife, 
and endeavored to close with the nearest Indian ; but 
the wily savage stepping aside, felled him to the earth 
with the butt of his rifle. 

"With his eyes fixed upon the dreadful scene, from 
which he was endeavoring his utmost to escape, the 
wild war-whooj) raised on the fall of the driver, seem- 
ed to Kankin premonitory of his own. There was a 
desperate struggle about the remaining horses, and he 
heard the crack of several rifles as he urged the one 



DEFEAT OF THE WHITES. 131 

he rode to its utmost speed. In a few moments lie 
felt the hold of the soldier behind him relax, and 
shortly after the latter fell with a groan to the earth. 
A few seconds more and a sharp pain told him 
that he was himself hit in the leg, while, by the 
convulsive bounds of his horse, he was satisfied that 
it was also severely wounded. Bending low to the 
mane, with a sagacity sharpened by the fear of death, 
he contrived to place as many large trees as possible 
between his pursuers and himself. He rode thus for 
miles, and long after the pursuit must have ceased, 
the vindictive war-whoop seemed to ring in his ears. 
His poor horse carried him to the last, but fell within 
half a mile of the post. Bandaging his leg with a 
handkerchief, Rankin attempted to proceed on foot ; 
but faint and exhausted with the loss of blood, he 
could not. From a feeling which all will understand, 
he retraced his steps, determined that if die he must, 
it should be beside the faithful steed. With his head 
upon the neck of the dying animal he swooned away, 
and was found by scouts from the garrison sent out to 
meet the detachment. 

Nearly the whole force at the post immediately 
turned out in pursuit of the enemy ; but the Indians 
had disappeared with all their booty. With the muti- 
lated bodies of his late companions, however, the ser- 
geant was rejoiced to see the treacherous scout 
brought in ; '' And stranger," said he, while his fea- 
tures gleamed with savage delight, " I was the man 
that tied the noose for him." 

Clank ! clank ! clank ! splash ! splash ! splash. Alas 



132 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

for the practical and nnpoetic age in which we live ! 
A man in the depths of the hold below turns a cock, 
and the strange eccentric is moved by the steam, 
whose supply it afterwards regulates. As the valves 
open and close, the piston rod, with the regularity of 
the pendulum, moves up and down, turning the pad- 
dle-shaft, which whirls in unceasing revolutions the 
immense wheels that propel us. No longer spreading 
a sail to the breeze, or drifting idly with the current, the 
arks and the broad-horns have disappeared — the wild 
and not unmelodious notes of the boatman's bugle are 
unheard, and in their stead the soothing solitude of 
nature is disturbed by the monotonous clank of a 
workshop. 

Surely the most beautiful object in nature is the 
ocean, heaving and swelling in its mysterious undu- 
lation, its calm and placid surface chequered with 
light and shade, reflecting the sky above and the 
changing aspect of the flying clouds. And the 
greatest perfection of art, is it not 'a ship, buoyant 
and graceful, under a cloud of canvas, buflfeting the 
elements, and against wind or tide or current, pushing 
onward to her port of destination ? 

While yet the world was young, the nomadic tribes 
that wandered along the coasts must have gazed wist- 
fully on the rippling surface of the sea ; but when the 
tempest came, and the angry surf lashed the oj)posing 
shore, and the spray was borne far inland by the 
blast, appalled and terrified they must have fled pre- 
cii:)itately from the scene. But every evil has its anti- 
dote. The storm, wide-spread and devastating, up- 



EFFECTS OF STEAM. 133 

rooted gigantic trees, which, floating upon the surface 
of the once-more tranquil ocean, suggested the means 
of transportation. The art of navigation, in the beau- 
tiful mythology of the ancients, ascribed to Venus and 
Minerva, owes its first invention to Ousous, the Phoe- 
nician, who, on the trunk of a tree denuded of its 
branches, and half-excavated by fire, boldly pushed 
from the shore, and encountered the untried perils of 
the deep. 

To the canoe succeeded the raft, and thence, in 
regular succession, the galley manned with oars, and 
the ship propelled by sails. From skirting along the 
coasts, men inured by degrees to the dangers of a new 
element, extended their intercourse from mainland to 
island, and, at length, with the newly invented com- 
pass for their guide, they boldly stood from the land, 
and wandered over the fathomless ocean in quest of 
other worlds. 

One of those worlds has requited the blessing of 
civilization conferred upon it, by the application of an 
agent which bids fair to efiect as great a revolution in 
maritime affairs, as the invention of gunpowder, up- 
wards of five hundred years ago, caused in the art of 
war. Not many years hence, and perchance some 
native of this New World, bolder than the Phoenician, 
may launch forth, and with the single aid of this 
agent, combat the opposing winds, and rocking in the 
storm, career successfully over the billows of the wide 
Atlantic."^ 

* Not many years after the above was written, an English officer did 



134 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

As I stood upon the summit of the Alleghany, and 
beheld a graceful sweep of verdant hills and plains, 
boundless as the view, and recollected that they 
stretched onward and onw^ard, until the one extreme 
is clasped in the rude embrace of the thick ribbed ice, 
while the other is washed by the phosphorescent rip- 
ple of the tropic, and that east and west, on each 
side, it has an ocean for a boundary, I could not help 
exclaiming : " Oh, my country ! if your young ener- 
gies be but properly directed, to what a glorious con- 
summation may you -not attain !" 

Three days after leaving Cincinnati, we dashed into 
the Mississippi, whose turbid and swollen waters 
rolled far and wide beyond their usual boundaries. It 
was a scene wild and magnificent, but appalling from 
the dangers which beset it. The river was filled with 
broken rafts, drift-logs, and half-sunken and fioating 
trees. The danger of running upon a snag, or en- 
countering a sawyer, was great and ever-impending. 
The cun-ent was so strong, that, frequently caught by 
a whirl or an eddy, our huge boat, like a stray leaf 
on a rivulet, w^as turned round and round, until strik- 
ing against a tree, it would be sent into the mid- 
current — the word torrent would, perhaps, convey a 
more correct idea of its irresistible rapidity. Some- 
times we were carried for miles among the trees, from 
whose verdant tops, the birds, which had remained un- 
disturbed by the rush and roar beneath, fiew at our 
approach, as if aware that their only enemy is man. 

achieve it, and two lieutenants of our navy were permitted to accept 
an invitation to acconnpany him in his return trip. 

I 



A SINGrLAR BLOCKADE. 135 

My friend and his father received me with the open- 
handed hospitality for which the south and south-west 
are proverbial. A few days after my arrival, they 
made up a grand hunting-match, in which I, unthink- 
ing mortal, joined. By sunrise, after a hurried break- 
fast, we were off ; and all unused to the rifle, I carried 
my own fowling-piece. In the woods, we soon sepa- 
rated, all but a young brother of my friend's, who 
kept with me. Little accustomed to the forest, by 
mid-day I felt much fatigued, and lagged slowly along, 
while my little guide, seemingly as fresh *as when w^e 
started, was eager in the pursuit of game. In a short 
time, between my weariness and his anxiety to pro- 
ceed, we lost each other ; and after ineffectually trying 
to find him, I threw myself at the foot of a tree, be- 
side which gurgled a rivulet. The early hour at 
which I had risen, and the unusual fatigue I had since 
undergone, combined with the soothing sound of the 
water as it rippled by, caused me to fall asleep. 

What awoke me I know not, but the first object I 
saw was the disc of the sun descending behind the 
tops of the trees. The next was a stag, with enormous 
antlers, standing by the brook, a short gun-shot dis- 
tance from me. He had evidently been drinking, but 
disturbed, perhaps, by my slight movement in waking, 
his head was thrown back in the attitude of listening. 
I remained perfectly still, and he again began to 
drink. With the utmost caution I reached for my 
gun, and taking deliberate aim, fired, and severely 
wounded him. He made one bound across the stream, 
but, to my amazement and great alarm, turned the 



136 THE MIDSHTPIIxilsr, 

next moment, and rushed furiously towards me. I 
had barely time to spring into the tree, when he 
brought up with a violent blow against it. He then 
walked round and round the tree, anxious to get at 
me, and glared at me with more ferocity than 1 
thought the animal capable of. His wound was cer- 
tainly severe, and I hoped would prove a mortal one, 
for he bled profusely. After blockading me in this 
singular manner for fifteen or twenty minutes, he 
turned to go away, when I coughed aloud, and with a 
redoubled fury he dashed at the tree. This was re- 
peated six or seven times, when he slowly walked 
away regardless of every attempt I made to bring 
him back. 

Immediately descending the tree, I re-loaded my 
gun, which had fallen beside it, and followed in pur- 
suit. I was unsuccessful ; and to my farther disap- 
pointment, discovered I had lost the bearings I had 
taken. Although the night promised to be a mild one, 
the prospect of spending it in the woods was far from 
pleasant ; and I hallooed long and loud for my com- 
panions. Echo alone replied. ISTot the echo of the 
sage writer, which, to the call, " Where are they ?" 
answered '' "Where ?" but the only kind of echo I have 
ever heard, which, in such a case, would have an- 
swered, " Are they," and now in fainter notes returned 
my own wild halloo. 

The sun had now set, and night approached more 
like ihe gathering of mist than the withdrawal of 
light. I struggled on, almost losing a sense of fatigue 
in anxiety, when, even through the thickening gloom, 



END OF THE ADVENTURE. 137 

I perceived that the trees grew thinner, and qnickened 
my pace in the hope that it would prove the clearing 
of the plantation. I was provoked to find myself on 
the edge of a small cane-brake. Recollecting pre- 
sently that I had heard this cane-brake spoken of as 
lying in a certain direction, I concluded that my best 
course would be directly through it. I had not gone one 
third of the way, however, when I found it so fatigu- 
ing, forcing my way through the canes, that I de- 
cided on throwing myself down, and spending the 
night there, when 1 was startled by the rattle of a 
rattle-snake. The sound w^as so sudden and unex- 
pected, that I could not tell from what quarter it pro- 
ceeded ; and afraid to step any way, I gathered the 
canes as thick as I could around me, and stood breath- 
less with anxiety. In a few moments, I heard him 
glide away, and springing in the opposite direction, 
regained the wood, and soon afterwards heard the 
welcome shouts of my friends in search of me. 

The approaching termination of my leave of ab- 
sence, compelled me, after a few weeks, to bid fare- 
well to those who had treated me almost as a son and 
brother, for which I feel the more grateful that I had 
no claims upon them other than what their kindly 
natures accorded. 



CHAPTER IX. 

I WAS next ordered to tlie sctooner Shark, then 
fitting out for a cruise on the coast of Africa. 

Sailing in midsummer, and sounding across the 
Atlantic with a deep-sea-line of the ordinary length,"^ 
we stopped for a few days at Madeira. My journal 
presents nothing of this visit which is worth trans- 
cribing. The vine, now almost the sole culture of this 
island, was "brought principally from Candia ; and the 
sugar-cane, introduced from the East, via Sicily and 
Spain, and hence transplanted to the West India 
islands, is no longer cultivated. 

From Madeira we sailed to the Canaries, and 
coasted along those beautiful islands, which are evi- 
dently of volcanic origin, and present the alternate 
aspect of mountains and valleys, rocks and gorges. 
We saw even less of these islands than of Madeira, for 

=^ At that time, the Master-Spirit of the Navy, had not turned the 
attention of the profession to the necessity of sounding the depths of the 
ocean, for the purpose of ascertaining, from the temperature and charac- 
ter of the bottom surface, the direction of its currents. 



THE CANAEIES. 139 

the " Rodgers" system of discipline was strictly 
enforced; the ruling feature of which is, to render 
every one as uncomfortable as possible; it seeming 
never to occur to some of our commanders, that there 
is a knowledge to be acquired unconnected with the 
tar-bucket. 

Merely touching at Orotava and Santa Cruz — the 
last place principally celebrated for the discomfiture 
of JSTelson, who lost an arm in a night attack upon it ; 
we bade adieu to this cluster of islands, which, for 
their salubrity, beauty, and productiveness, were 
denominated " Fortunatse," by the ancients. It was 
matter of deep regret to us that we were denied the 
opportunity of examining them more nearly, and 
particularly of ascending the glorious " Peak of 
Tenerifie," with its five zones of vegetation, beginning 
with the vine, and terminating with the heath. It is 
singular enough that the first and not most inaccurate 
description of this group extant, was given by Juba, 
Prince of Mauritania, who graced a triumph of 
Csesar. These islands were by the ancients considered 
as the extremity of the earth, and none ventured 
beyond them, until Columbus, with the compass for 
his only guide, ploughed his way through the unknown 
sea in quest of other worlds. 

Sailing from the Canaries, our course was in a con- 
verging line with the high range of Mount Atlas — 
fabled by the ancients to prop the vault of heaven—- 
and parallel to the Great Desert of Sahara, with its 
trackless wilds ; its shifting sands, tossed by the winds 
and whirling in eddies through the air, and only here 



140 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

and there a spot of vegetation — verdant islands in a 
boundless waste. 

Amid the oases, which, like islands, gem this sandy- 
sea, the predatory robber lurks in wait for the coming 
caravan, and the " ship of the desert," as he plods his 
weary way, is fortunate if he encounter only hunger 
and thirst, the withering harmattan, and the whirl- 
wind madly waltzing with the sand. 

Eunning by the parallel of Cape Non {Non jplus 
ultra)^ we next made the Cape de Verdes ; a volcanic 
group of islands and islets, not far distant from the 
coast of Africa, and nearly abreast of the debouchure 
of the Senegal ; which, as well as the Gambia, the 
Nile, and that famed, mysterious stream the Niger, 
flow from the mountains of Kong and of the Moon — 
stupendous ranges stretching across the desert, and 
forming barriers to its waves of sand. 

The exterior surface of these islands presents to the 
eye mostly sharp crags and deep gorges, the former 
bare and incinerated, the latter clothed with luxurious 
vegetation. The rainy season had commenced, but 
the copious showers scarce allayed the stifling heat. 
It w^as by turns a pour down or a drizzle, and dry 
clothes were soon numbered among the remembrances 
of the past. The night air was peculiarly unwhole- 
some, of which we had melancholy 2:>roof. Two 
of the midshipmen, flnding the atmosphere insupport- 
able below, slept one night in the stern of the launch 
which was stowed amidships. One of them took the 
precaution of protecting himself from the dew; the 
other slept with face and breast exposed. They were 



THE SLAVE TRADE. 141 

both attacked next day with fever ; the former, compa- 
ratively light, but the latter was in a few hours in the 
frensy of delirium, and his brain never recovered from 
the shock. He ultimately abandoned the service ; en- 
listed as a private soldier in one of our regiments, and 
leaving his post as sentinel, committed suicide by 
drowning. 

From this group, we sailed for Freetown, an English 
colony at Sierra Leone, first settled by refugee negroes 
who fled from America during the Revolutionary war. 
Its site is a most unfortunate one. The adjacent 
country is low and swampy, and the rank vegetation 
growing out of and covering the soil with living and 
decaying matter, renders, and will ever render the 
climate fatal to the constitution of the white man. 

The slave-trade is far from being suppressed ; and 
from 1661, when the Eoyal African Company was 
first chartered with the condition of supplying the Eng- 
lish West India islands with 3000 slaves annually, it has 
gone on increasing, and at the beginning of this cen- 
tury amounted to 100,000 per annum, besides the loss 
in transportation, which is equal to 15 per cent. 

Denmark, to its honor, was the first Christian nation 
which prohibited the slave-trade ; our own was the 
second ; and thirteen years afterwards, our example 
was followed by Great Britain. 

Our commander, if fearful of encountering shoals in 
mid- ocean, deserved the gratitude of all on board for 
the precautions taken to guard against the eflects of 
the climate. No one was permitted, on any pretext, 
to sleep on shore, and all were required to wear flan- 



142 THE MIDSHIPMAK. 

nel next to the skin. Nor was he content with merely 
issuing the order, bnt, to his credit, saw it carried into 
rigid execution, and morning and evening the crew 
were mustered at quarters for inspection. To the 
enforcement of this judicious regulation, the compara- 
tive preservation of our health is mainly attributable. 

From Sierra Leone we sailed do^m the coast to our 
own colony of Liberia, then just founded, where we 
landed Dr. Ayres, the first agent sent out by the 
American Colonization Society. This was an intelli- 
gent and prepossessing gentleman, with whom we 
were much pleased. He had been in Africa before, 
and his first introduction to the continent, as he 
relates it, was a singular one. The vessel in which 
he was a passenger, was wrecked in sight of the 
shore, and after swimming for some hours towards the 
low line of coast which seemed to recede before him, 
his strength gave out, and in despair he ceased to 
struggle ; but as he sunk, his prayer for mercy was cut 
short by finding that the water was no deeper than his 
waist. The shore was flat and shelving, and he had 
been within his depth for a mile or more. 

Liberia is situated on an elevated peninsula, and is 
by consequence more healthy, and promises to be 
more successful, than the settlement at Sierra Leone. 
Its condition is, however, more prospectively than 
immediately prosperous. But there are elements 
which, if judiciously worked out, may yet make it 
the nucleus of the great work of African Civilization. 

The interior of the continent is mostly involved in 
mystery. The circumnavigation of its coast was a 



CIECUMNAVIGATION OF AFKICA. 143 

favorite object of the maritime enterprise of the 
ancients, who conceived the idea of its being a 
peninsula, from observing the convergence of its 
coasts beyond the Eed Sea and the Mediterranean. 
There are four attempts on record. The first by some 
Phoenicians sent by Necho, an Egyptian king ; the 
second, by Sataspes the Persian ; the third, by Hanno 
the Carthaginian, and the fourth, by Eudoxus of 
Cyzicus. The brief narrative of the first, is thus ren- 
dered by Herodotus : — 

" The Pha3nicians, setting sail from the Eed Sea, 
made their way into the southern sea ; when autumn 
approached they drew their vessels to the land, sowed 
a crop, and waited until it was grown, when they reap- 
ed it, and again put to sea. Having spent two years 
in this manner, in the third year, they reached the pil- 
lars of Hercules, and returned to Egypt, reporting 
what does not find belief with me, but may perhaps 
with some other persons ; for they said that in pass- 
ing Africa, they had the sun on their right hand (i. e. 
the north.) In this manner Lybia was first known." 

The very circumstance on which the historian bases 
his incredulity, tends to confirm the truth of the nar- 
rative. Africa could not be circumnavigated without 
bringing the sun to the north. 

The Persian sailed by the pillars of Hercules and 
turned to the south, but was intimidated by the sight 
of the frightful and desolate shores of Sahara, and the 
tempestuous ocean which beat against them, and 
turning back, was put to death by his Imperial 
Master. 



144 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

The Carthaginian, passing also through the Straits 
of Gibraltar, sailed, it is supposed,as far as the Bight of 
Benin, now believed to be the outlet of the Niger. 
He says, " On the last day, we came to a high moun- 
tain covered with trees, the wood of which was 
odoriferous, and variously tinted. Passing round 
these mountains, we came to an immense opening of 
the sea, bordered by plains, in which we saw fires of 
different magnitudes glittering at intervals from every 
spot. In it was a large island, and in that island a 
salt-water lake, in which again was another island. 
Entering this lake, we saw, in the day, nothing but 
forests ; but, in the night, there were many fires burn- 
ing, and we heard various sounds of musical instru- 
ments, and the cries of numberless human beings. 
Being terrified by these objects, and the prophets also 
exhorting us to quit the island, we made off and 
reached next the fiery region of Thymiamata, whence 
torrents of fiame poured down into the sea. Here, the 
heat of the earth was such, that the foot could not 
tread upon it. We therefore, took our speedy de- 
parture from this place, and saw in the night the 
earth full of flames. There appeared also, in the 
midst of them, one lofty fire, greater than the rest, 
which seemed to reach to the very stars. This, when 
seen by daylight, proved to be a very lofty mountain, 
called the chariot of the Gods." 

The great conflagrations of the grass, and the music, 
and the dancing of the natives prolonged through the 
night, have been frequently noticed by modern navi- 



AFRICAN" THUNDER. 14:5 

gators along the coast, and confirm essentially Han- 
no's high-colored narrative. 

Eudoxus, after two voyages through the Red Sea, in 
which he penetrated as far as the southern shores of 
Arabia ; also made the attempt by passing the Pillars 
of Hercules, and proceeded until he came to a race of 
people who appeared to him to speak the same lan- 
guage with those he had met on the opposite shore ; 
when he returned to fit out a larger expedition, but 
was disappointed in his expectations. 

The moderns have been more successful, and the out- 
ward geographical features of Africa are well known ; 
but the mysterious gloom which hangs over the interior, 
has been but partially penetrated by a few adventurous 
men. This extraordinary land, which since the crea- 
tion has panted beneath the direct rays of Phoebus, 
and which, in the size of its animals (man excepted), 
and its vegetable productions, surpasses the other 
quarters of the globe, presents a vast and glorious field 
for exploration. But, alas ! where are the means to be 
procured ? 

From Liberia, we cruised along the coast in search of 
slavers, the rain sometimes coming down in an ava- 
lanche, at others falling in intermittent showers. The 
squalls, which were preceded by a gathering murkiness 
of the atmosphere, were absolutely terrific, and the 
clouds hung so low, that the vivid lightning seemed to 
shoot in horizontal lines about us. I have read of "the 
wreck of matter and the crush of worlds," but had no 
conception what it sounded like, until I heard African 
thunder. 

7 



14:6 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

We had heard of a large slaver, armed and equipped 
to fight her way, and we eagerly sought her. One morn- 
ing we were sanguine that we beheld her, for we discov- 
ered an armed vessel, with yards too square for an ordin- 
ary slaver, and which, instead of endeavoring to escape, 
hauled by the wind, and stood towards us. But our 
hoj)es were crushed when she hoisted the English flag. 
It was a brig of war, commanded by Lieutenant Hagan, 
of the Royal Navy. He was a very Nelson in gallantry, 
and had been seven years on the coast, during which he 
had distinguished himself in frequent combats with 
armed slavers, and on one occasion, having boarded a 
vessel of superior force to his own, engaged in a hand-to- 
hand conflict with her commander, and slew him. He 
had lost nearly all of his original crew by sickness, 
and supplied their place with Kroomen, an active 
race who inhabit this coast, and are. mostly employed 
as fishermen, seamen, and pilots. Of his officers, there 
was not one remaining. The last survivor, was one 
whom he had brought a boy from England, and for 
whom, after the great mortality among his officers, 
he had procured the appointment of a midshipman. 
He described his grief as being more poignant at -the 
loss of this last one, than for all the rest, as he had not, 
until then, felt so absolutely alone. His only compa- 
nion afterwards, was a favorite monkey which had 
been accidentally killed a short time previous. 

One morning at daylight, we discovered a sus- 
picious-looking vessel, and immediately made all sail 
in chase. But those on board of her were not disposed 
to be interrogated, and the wind being very light, they 



THE CHASE. 147 

kept their vessel full before it. There is a trite but true 
saying among sailors, that " a stern chase is always a 
long one," and we gained very slowly upon them. 
Towards noon, it fell calm, and the chase and ourselves 
got out our sweeps (long oars mounted upon swivels), 
and the chances of capture or escape, became solely de- 
pendent upon physical exertion. Fear of pecuniary 
loss and severe, perhaps capital punishment, actuated 
the one, and motives of humanity, intermingled with 
visions of prize money, impelled the other. As fear is 
a more powerful incentive than either benevolence or 
the love of gain, the chase at first increased her 
distance from us ; but, as we were better manned, 
and could more fi^equently relieve the men at the 
sweeps, the prospects were soon changed, and we 
rapidly gained upon her. Already the bow guns were 
cleared away, and we were calculating how long 
before they could be brought to bear, when, through 
the spyglass, we were shocked to perceive that gangs 
of negroes were brought up, placed at the sweeps, and 
made to labor for the prolongation of their own 
captivity. This cruel act, while it rendered the char- 
acter of the chase no longer questionable, spurred us 
to renewed exertion; but the heat was intense, and 
the allowance of water was insufficient even for a state 
of inactivity. No moral stimulus could compete with 
the physical relaxation, and as the sun descended 
towards the west, the spirits of our men began to flag. 
Again the chase led off, and as night closed in, showed 
but as a cloudy speck on the horizon. But, with the up- 
rising of the moon came a gentle breeze, which soon 



148 THE MmSHIPMAK. 

strengthened into a stiff and steady one, and carrying 
it with ns under a press of sail, we were almost in gun- 
shot distance of the chase before she felt its influence. 
An hour more, and the result was no longer doubtful. 
Our yards were more square, our canvas stronger, and 
our heavier vessel was less impeded by the now rising 
swell. We gradually closed upon the chase, but she 
would not heave to, until within point blank range of 
our guns. 

An idea of the discipline of a man-of-war, may be 
formed from the following circumstance which occur- 
red during the chase. We had brought the slaver 
within the range of our shot, but as it could only be 
indistinctly seen from deck, a midshipman was sent 
by the captain to take his position on the head of the 
bowsprit to direct the helmsman how to steer and give 
the word when to fire. The young officer obeyed the 
order, and when he thought our bow was in an exact 
line with the chase, gave the word, and raised himself 
up on the stay to which he clung, to see where the 
shot would strike. It had not occurred to him, to our 
Commander, nor to any one else, that he was almost in 
the direct line of fire. As it was, the shot passed so 
near his head that its windage threw him round the 
stay, and but for the strong hold he had just taken, 
would have sent him overboard. From fear of mis- 
construction, he would say nothing of the peril he was 
in, but remained at his post until the gun had been six 
times discharged, but, from the repeated concussion, 
his head began to whirl, and he was fast losing the 
power to sustain himself, when the danger of his posi- 



THE CAPTURE. 149 

tion flashed npon the mind of our Commander. The 
Midshipman was immediately ordered in, but instead 
of an expression of regret for the great and unneces- 
sary peril to which he had been exposed, he received 
a severe reprimand for not having made it known 
immediately after the first discharge. 

The slaver proved to be a schooner, sailing under 
French colors, with a mixed crew and an American 
mate. She was bound to the French West India 
islands. The overpowering smell and the sight pre- 
sented by her slave-deck, can never be obliterated 
from the memory. In a space of about 15 by 40 
feet, and four feet high, between-decks, one hundred 
and sixty-three negroes, men, women, and children, were 
promiscuously confined. In sleeping they were made to 
dove-tail, each one drawn up to the shortest span, and 
the children were obliged to lie upon the full grown. 
They were all naked, and to protect from vermin not 
a hair was permitted to grow upon their persons. 
Their bodies were so emaciated, and their black skins 
were so shrunk upon the facial bones, that in their 
torpor, they resembled so many Egyptian mummies 
half-awakened into life. A pint of water and half a 
pint of rice each, was their daily allowance, which is 
reduced if the passage be prolonged. The passage is 
performed in from fifty to seventy days. 

I never saw the sympathies of men more deeply 
moved than were those of our crew. Immediately 
after taking possession, while the papers were being 
examined, we hoisted up a cask of water, and some 



150 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

bread and beef, and gave each poor slave a long drink 
and a hearty meal. 

Unfortunately, the schooner's papers were so regu- 
lar,*^ that onr commander did not feel authorized to send 
her to the United States. But he made prisoner of the 
nominal mate, but real master, to be taken home for 
trial. The officers not feeling the same responsibility 
as our commander, blamed him for what they consid- 
ered his timidity and want of feeling. "We offered to 
become his security against any pecuniary loss, but as 
our purses held but little, and never held that little 
long, our security was not deemed sufficient, and the 
slaver was released. 

With feelings which I cannot undertake to express, 
we saw the schooner fill away and steer to the west- 
ward, bearing into life-long captivity the unhappy 
wretches whom we had inspired with a hope of 
freedom. ^ 

After cruising along the coast without meeting with 
anything worth transcribing, we also turned our prow 
to the westward, and steered for the Antilles. During 
the passage, we encountered a severe gale of wind, 
which subsiding more rapidly than the sea, left us 
rolling about on a confused swell, with scarce a breath 
of air to steady us. When the movement was most 
uneasy, a young sailor boy who was passing along the 
deck stepped on a rope, which was at the instant 
stretched out by the flapping of the sail to which it 



* At that time, France had not entered into the league against the 
tjlave-trade. 



AN INTKEPID BOY. 151 

was attached, and he was thrown some ten feet up- 
wards, and fell overboard. With a presence of mind 
1 have never seen surpassed, the lad before he had 
reached his full ascent, cried out, " boy overboard," 
and struck out manfully when he reached the water. 
We immediately cut away the life-buoy, formed of 
two small empty casks, secured together by cross 
pieces, and with a staff bearing a flag from the centre. 
To this, the boy soon made his way; and our alarm 
for him increased when we perceived that every time 
he tried to climb upon it, the buoy would turn over 
with him. At length, to our great relief, we saw him 
dive down beneath it, and coming up between the 
cross pieces, succeeded in perching himself upon it. 
Admiration at this sight determined our commander 
to attem^jt to save him, although the sea ran alarm- 
ingly high for a boat to venture in it, and volunteers 
more than were necessary, sprang forward at the word. 
At the expense of some anxiety for the boat's crew, 
the intrepid boy was rescued, and gladly welcomed on 
board again. 

After a pleasant but somewhat protracted run across 
the Atlantic, we made and passed Barbadoes, the first 
settled and improved of all the English possessions in 
the West Indies. There is not a central mountain 
range in this island, and it is, by consequence, less 
copiously watered than others of the group, and being 
further out in the Atlantic, is more exposed to the 
sweep of the hurricane. But its scenery although not 
grand, is beautiful, and peculiarly refreshing to an 



152 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

eye long accustomed to the sight of arid sands and 
of water stretching to the horizon. 

We pursued our course through the Archipelago of 
the Caribbean sea, to the island of Jamaica, the largest 
and most valuable of the West India islands possessed 
by Great Britain. The lofty range of the Blue Moun- 
tains in the interior, covered with majestic forests, 
gives to the landscape a grand and varied aspect. 
From these heights descend many streams which fer- 
tilize the land as they flow into the sea. 

Proceeding to the harbor of Kingston, we passed 
the ruins of Port Eoyal, with the exception of Mexico 
and Lima, once the most magnificent city of the JSTew 
World. But first destroyed by an earthquake and 
then by a confiagration, it was finally laid in ruins by 
a hurricane, the most dreadful ever known, even in 
these latitudes. 

The climate and the soil here call forth a wondrous 
luxuriance of vegetation. Nature appears prodigal of 
organic matter, and the ground is overloaded with 
plants which have scarcely room for their development. 
In the forests, the trunks of the trees are covered with 
a drapery of ferns and mosses, which diffuse the rich- 
est odors, and almost conceal from sight the noble 
stems that support them. In the gardens, abound the 
orange, ever blooming and ever fruitful; the pome- 
granate and the fig, and hosts of others; while on every 
side — 

" Its luscious fruit Anana rears 
Amid a coronet of spears.'' 

As in other places, our visit here was a brief one. 



CHANGE OF CLIMATE. 163 

Having sailed for Africa in August, it was necessary, 
in obedience to orders, to leave the West Indies for our 
northern coast in January. With a favorable wind, 
which allowed no time to prepare our systems for the 
shock, in a few days we exchanged a torrid for a frigid 
climate, and instead of seeking the shade and being 
clothed in summer attire, we coveted every sunbeam, 
and wrapped in our thickest garments shnmk from the 
keen north wind. After passing through the Florida 
Straits, we encountered a northeast snow storm, and in 
its very teeth worked our way to New York ; our suf- 
ferings increased a hundred fold in consequence of the 
weather ports being taken out; for what purpose, 
we juniors could not conceive, unless to allow the sea 
an unresisted sweep across the deck, or to extinguish 
the fires and prevent us from cooking our food. We 
had heard of lee ports being lightly fastened to permit 
the egress of the water when a sea was shipped, but 
never before of weather ones being taken out to give 
ingress to it. The driving spray, freezing as it fell, 
coated everything with an incrustation of ice, and our 
decks would have been too slippery to walk upon if 
the vessel had been in a state of rest. The running 
rigging soon became of the size of shrouds, and the 
shrouds as thick as cables. When it was necessary to 
brace a yard or trim a sail, the sailors could only make 
their way in the manner of Commodore Trunnion 
on his way to be married ; and when the rope was 
reached, it had first to be cleared of the ice which en- 
cumbered it. 

Coming from the hot and relaxing climate of Africa, 
7^ 



154 THE MTDSHIPMLW. 

we could ill endure the keen, north wind which cuts, 
and burns as it cuts, like a red hot razor. Some of the 
officers and many of the men were frost-bitten ; a few 
of the latter so severely, that they subsequently lost 
the use of their feet for life. The greatest sufferers 
were those who drank ardent spirits ; and those who were 
strictly temperate, almost to a man escaped. Next to 
temperance, exercise was the greatest preservative, and 
he who kept his blood in circulation by constant motion, 
if it were only marking time, retained the full use of 
his limbs, while his more indolent watchmates were 
severely frost-bitten. When we reached port, our 
schooner, from the truck to the water's edge, was a 
pyramid of ice ; and as fast as we were detached 
from her, each one, who possessed a home, made 
what haste he could to reach it. 



CHAPTER X. 

One beautiful moonlight night, while sailing through 
the group of the Windward Islands, one of our ship- 
mates related some incidents in the life of an officer of 
one of our private armed vessels during the war with 
England. The island of which he spohe wfien lie 
began, was then in full view, and from tlie time and 
circumstances of its relation, tiia narratives made such 
an impression on me, that I sought the earliest 
opportunity to note it down while fn^sh in my 
remembrance. The names are partially altered ; but 
the story was related with an air of truthfulness, which 
combined with what some of ns had heard before, left 
no douljt on the minds of its hearers. 

It was just daybreak ; the air was calm, and the 
whole face of nature^ was shrouded in a light and 
silvery mist. Presently thci mist became agitated by 
a fitful breeze. Kays of light, faint at fj]\st, but avi^ry 
moment becoming brighter in their hue, penetrated it 
from the east, and at length, gathering its folds, it 
j>repared to follow the path of the ascending sun. As 



156 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

it lifted, a scene was disclosed upon which the eye of 
man delights to dwell. 

An island, clothed with luxuriant foliage, and 
redolent with the perfume of the tropics, laid sleeping 
on the crystal waters. On its southern side, the 
unruffled waves of a sheltered bay broke with a mur- 
muring sound upon a white and shelving beach. 

At the foot of this bay, embowered in a grove, was 
a small cluster of whitewashed houses, which seen 
through the interlacing branches of the trees, looked 
the fit abodes of charity and domestic peace. 

The flickering airs, soft and fragrant as the breath 
of infancy, fanned the pale and attenuated cheek of an 
invalid, who seated at the foot of a cotton-tree, looked 
wistfully to seaward. A boundless expanse of ocean, 
with its undulating sm^face, alone met his anxious 
gaze ; but when the sun had risen, and unobscured by 
a cloud, threw his unrefracted rays across the slumber- 
ing sea, he discovered, on the farthest verge of the 
horizon, a light and buoyant fabric, and recognized it as 
the object of his scrutiny. It was the Chasseur, the 
symmetrical Chasseur, a private armed ship of war, 
already renowned for a glorious achievement. 

In a few hours the sea breeze set in, which, cool and 
refreshing, is sent by a merciful Providence to temper 
the heat of a tropical sun. The ship was soon under a 
cloud of canvas, and it was a beautiful thing to see her 
inclined to the breeze, dashing along with graceful 
speed, while the light tracery of her rigging was 
reflected upon the surface of the sails, which looked 
snow-white in the glancing beams of the sun. As if 



moroENTS OF A LIFE. 157 

instinct with life, she bounded across the water, and 
soon dropped her anchor in the bay. 

The invalid Maynard Horner, was an officer of the 
Chasseur, and had been wounded in an engagement 
about a month previous. By the advice of the surgeon 
he had been sent on shore to recruit while his vessel 
made a short cruise among the islands. 

At first Mr. Gillespie, the American Consul, pro- 
cured for the invalid the best lodgings that could be 
hired; but when he heard his mother's name and 
found that through her the young officer was related to 
an old and cherished friend, he at once had him re- 
moved to his o^vn house. 

Horner was in his twenty-fourth year, and already 
distinguished for his gallantry. His mind was vigor- 
ous, and his manners graceful, and thei^e were few who 
in a short time had acquired so many friends. His 
eye, undimmed by recent illness, expressed decision 
of character, and his dark hair fell in untrimmed luxu- 
riance over his pale but meanly features. 

Like a ministering angel, Mary Gillespie, the 
motherless daughter of the Consul, supplied the wants 
and anticipated the wishes of the invalid. Her silent 
but not unobserved attentions won his unbounded 
gratitude, which, as he recovered, ripened into love ; 
for to rare personal attractions she united the loveliest 
qualities of her sex. 

It was scarce possible, that under such circum- 
stances, two kindred spirits should meet and not 
assimilate. It is no wonder, then, that thus thrown 
together they should become attached. They did 



158 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

love ! Love only as those can do, who, trustful in their 
nature, are uncankered by care, and in their thoughts, 
their prayers, their aspirations, and their dreams, 
become each other's constant and abiding theme. 

The Chasseur arrived in the early forenoon. That 
day her commander and several of her officers dined 
with Mr. Gillespie, and before midnight, they were 
again at sea, for there were enemies abroad, and they 
felt bound to seek them. 

It were useless to dwell upon the parting of the 
lovers. All that the gushing fondness of two such 
natures could impart was interchanged. Hap what 
might, though distance should separate, and circum- 
stances debar their intercourse for months, or years, 
they had that unswerving confidence in each other 
which true and loyal hearts alone can feel. It is true 
that both felt much anxiety — the maiden in especial, 
for her lover was exposed to far more than the perils 
of the deep. But with a faith early instilled by the 
precepts of a sainted mother, she placed her trust on 
high, and with more of hope than fear, looked forward 
to the future. 

For some weeks the Chasseur sought in vain for a 
valuable prize. But few captures were made, and it 
was determined to shift her cruising ground to the 
South Atlantic. When crossing the line, the incon- 
siderate among the crew were disappointed that the 
usual ceremony of receiving Neptune was dispensed 
with ; but the Chasseur was too well disciplined for 
such a disorderly exhibition. 

Horner's messmates soon perceived a marked 



INCroENTS OF A LIFE. 159 

change in his demeanor. His hilarity was gone ; and 
avoiding his former associates, he paced the deck or 
sat apart, wrapped in the visionary aspirations of a 
lover. They suspected the cause, but had too much 
regard for him to wound his feelings by ill-timed jests 
and allusions. Indeed, their respect for him was 
increased, for they perceived with surprise that 
although completely absorbed in reverie when he had 
no duty to perform, yet he had become the most vigi- 
lant among them, and in particular paid the strictest 
attention to the exercise of his division at the guns, 
and in the use of small arms. At such times, his eye 
sparkled with more than its wonted enthusiasm, and 
his very air breathed some exalted purpose. 

" Take care, gentlemen !" said the captain one day 
to a party of officers near him, " take care ! Hor- 
ner is wooing glory that he may win a bride, and if 
opportunity offer, may bear away the palm." 

" Let him, if he can," was the reply, " we will not 
begrudge what must be dearly earned." 

Nearly in a line with the extreme southern limits 
of two continents, at the confluence of two mighty 
oceans, lies Tristan d'Acuna, a high, rocky, and unin- 
habited island, its summit wrapped in clouds, and 
except in one place, the surf, loud and continuous, 
breaks upon its shore. 

The wind was fresh, and the tumultuous waves ran 
high, when through the mist the crew of the Chasseur 
gained a sight of the land. "While the captain hesi- 
tated whether to approach the anchorage, or " lie to" 



160 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

and await more favorable weather, the cry " sail ho !" 
was heard from aloft. 

" "Where away ?" was quickly asked by the officer 
of the watch. 

" Broad off the weather beam. Sir," was the reply, 
and the Chasseur wore round and stood towards the 
stranger. ITone but those who have experienced it, 
can form an idea of the thrill of delight with which 
every man on board of a cruiser, in time of war, hears 
the cry of " sail ho !" which insures the excitement of 
a chase, and the probability of an engagement. 

Long before the hull of the stranger was visible from 
the deck, her spars and sails, enveloped in the mist, in 
their shadowy outline seemed of gigantic proportions. 
Like a shapeless cloud, rather than a thing of art, she - 
came down before the breeze, the mist, now and then, 
in fantastic wreaths, half conqealing, half betraying, 
her form and character. The American hoisted her 
colors as an invitation to the stranger to declare her 
nationality. Shortly after, the report of a gun came 
booming over the water, and the crew of the Chasseur 
uttered a shout of exultation, as through the vapor 
they descried the ensign of St. George. The com- 
manders of the two vessels were, however, aware that 
the wind was too high, and the sea too rough for a fair 
encounter. Each one, brave himself, doubted not the 
valor of his adversary, and with a tacit understanding 
that they would meet when the gale abated, the ships 
hove to in each other's near vicinity. They rode out 
the night in safety; each one carrying a light to 
denote her position to the other. 



INCIDENTS OF A LIFE. 161 

The next day it moderated, and at 1 P. M., the 
Chasseur hoisted her jack at the fore, as an intimation 
that she was ready for the encounter. 

The signal was promptly answered, and the vessels 
filled away, on opposite tacks, and exchanged broad- 
sides as they passed. Immediately after, like two 
knights engaged a Voutrance^ each again w^ore round, 
and stood directly for the other, while from forward, 
aft, successively as they bore, the guns were fired with 
singular precision. As they neared each other, the 
scene became more and more exciting. The atmo- 
sphere was darkened, and the crews were working 
their guns with the energy of desperation, when a 
harsh and grating sound told that the ships were 
afoul. 

" Away ! boarders away !" was the instant cry of 
the Englishman, and a host of men, cutlass and pistol 
in hand, gathered on his forecastle. 

" Stand by to repel boarders !" was the prompt 
reply of the American, and a forest of bristling pikes 
was arrayed against the assailants. Talk of serried 
ranks and wedged battalions — of the compact square, 
and even of the deep moat and frowning parapet ! — • 
who would not charge upon either, rather than breast 
that fretted line of steel, held by those stern-visaged 
men ! The enemy paused and faltered. 

By word and example, Horner had encouraged 
his men to their utmost exertion, and at the first call 
hurried with them to repel the enemy ; but when that 
enemy hesitated, although but for an instant, he 



162 THE MIDSHIPMAiq-. 

shouted " On them, men! on! on!" and rushed for- 
ward to board them in turn. 

" Back Mr. Horner, back, I command you," shouted 
the captain. " My God! he's gone!" he added, as 
the two ships lifted high by a swelling wave fell apart, 
and the foremast of the enemy came down with a 
crash. The instant before, Horner had sprung on the 
bowsprit, and the next, just escaping the mast as it 
fell, he was upon the deck of the other vessel. 

Captain Boyle, although &m as a veteran 
throughout the fight, no sooner beheld the peril of 
his officer, than trembling like an aspen, he sprung 
into the rigging, and in a voice shrill and distinct 
amid the uproar, called out, " Hurt but a hair of his 
head, and I'll sink you where you lie." 

In the mean time, Horner had not been idle. 
Striking right and left, parrying where he could, but 
not stopping to return a blow, he pressed on, and in 
less time than it has taken to narrate this incident, 
gained the quarter deck, cut the halliards, and hauled 
the ensign down. 

On separating from the enemy, the Chasseur ranged 
ahead, and was prepared to throw in a broadside, but, 
seeing the colors down, hailed to know if they had 
surrendered. The rej)ly was in the affirmative. 

The prize was immediately taken possession of, and 
Horner was found almost insensible, endeavoring to 
staunch the blood from an ugly wound with the flag 
which he had hauled down. 

So destructive had been the fire of the American 



INCIDENTS OF A LIFE. 163 

that the prize was completely riddled. She was there- 
fore scuttled, and in a very short time the Chasseur 
was again prepared for action. 

The wound of Horner was so severe as to leave no 
hope of his being able to perform duty the remainder 
of the cruise. A neutral merchant vessel that was 
fallen in with, was chartered as a cartel, and all the 
prisoners, with a few of the wounded, including Hor- 
ner, were put on board of her to be taken to the 
United States. 

Under the judicious treatment of the medical officer 
who accompanied them, Horner was convalescent 
when they passed the island from which he had lately 
embarked. At his urgent request he was landed, and 
the cartel after a few hours' delay, proceeded on h-er 
cruise. 

Like the anguish of the parting, the ecstasy of the 
meeting of the lovers may be imagined, but cannot be 
described. 

" Dear Maynard," said Mary, as soon as they were 
alone, " Dr. Holmes has told me all, and you have 
more than realized my wildest and most extravagant 
hopes." 

" Say not so, Mary ! Indeed you should rather take 
credit to yourself ; for if I have done anything beyond 
the strict line of duty, it was to prove myself worthy 
of your rare affection." 

" It is always so with you ; you first excite our 
admiration, and then ascribe to others the credit due 
only to yourself." 



164 THE MIDSmPMAlT. 

" Nay, sweet girl, you wrong yourself and me. Tell 
me, what is the body without the soul ?" 

" An inanimate lump of clay — but why the ques- 
tion?" 

" Because to me you are what the soul is to the 
body — the life which animates and the spirit which 
directs it. Tou are my inspiration and my hope — the 
aim and object of all my aspirations." 

'' Hush, this cannot, nay, I would not have it to be 
true. Let us change the theme." She laid her hand 
upon his lips as she spoke— but what maiden was 
ever yet displeased with the devotion of a favored 
lover ? 

In the course of their conversation, Maynard 
learned that Mr. Gillespie was on the look out for a 
vessel to convey himself, his daughter, and his son, a boy 
of fourteen, to the United States. The former was most 
anxious to accompany them, and in the midst of hap- 
piness, was perhaps, the most impatient of all — for 
Mr. Gillespie would not consent to his daughter's mar- 
riage before she had seen her relatives at home. 
Perhaps, too, he wished to inquire more particularly 
than he had yet been enabled to do, into the character 
of the man who aspired to be his son-in-law. He 
knew him to be brave and intelligent, and of frank 
and winning manners, but he knew nothing more — 
Captain Boyle when he dined at the Consulate, having 
answered his questions in general terms of commen- 
dation. 

They waited for a long time in vain. So ruinous 
had the war become to American commerce, that for 



mCIDENTS OF A LIFE. 165 

months, not a vessel from the United States had visited 
the island. 

Late one evening, a schooner named the '' Ilum- 
ming-Bird," formerly an American letter of marque, 
arrived, bringing intelligence of peace between Eng- 
land and the United States. The owners of the 
schooner had, without delay, applied to the Colombian 
Minister for a commission, and she was now equipped 
as a privateer under the flag of that Eepublic. Her 
commander, having been drawn from his course by a 
vessel to which he had given chase and captured two 
days previous, purposed proceeding immediately to 
Nassau, New Providence. 

As from thence a speedy conveyance to the United 
States could certainly be procured, and no Spanish 
cruisers w^ere supposed to be at sea, Mr. Gillespie 
offered such inducements to the captain that he con- 
sented to take them as passengers, and gave up his 
cabin for their accommodation. 

In less than sixty hours they sailed with a light but 
favorable breeze. About 4 P. M., the second day, 
when they were nearly through the Mona passage, it 
fell calm. Within the passage, from shore to sliore, 
there was not a ripple on the water, and the buoyant 
little vessel, without advancing, rose and fell with the 
undulation of the sea. A few miles ahead, w^ithout 
the passage, stretching from the east towards the west, 
the dark and ruffled surface was relieved by the white 
caps of the waves, which were curling and breaking" 
into sparkling foam. It was the trade-wind sweeping 
unobstructed by the land, towards the Great Bahama 



166 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

Bank. Several vessels were in siglit, among them a 
large one, coming down before the wind, which, less 
than any, excited their attention, for she seemed too 
bm'densome for a Spanish trader to the colonies. 

" Captain," said Horner, half an hour after, " nn- 
less I am very much mistaken, that large stranger 
to windward is a man-of-war." 

" Probably an Englishman," replied the captain. 

" Scarcely ; her canvas is not sufficiently dark, and 
her upper sails roach too much. It is evidently a 
frigate, and I think can hardly be a Frenchman, for 
they rarely come in this direction. Are you sure 
that there are no Spanish cruisers among the islands ?" 

" None so large as this," answered the captain, ''for 
the Isabella went to leeward upwards of a month 
ago." 

" May it not have been a ruse ?" asked Horner. 

" Give me the spy-glass," said the captain, and he 
looked long and earnestly. " I cannot make her 
out," he said at length, " but do not like her looks. 
Get out the sweeps, Mr. Long," he added, addressing 
his lieutenant, " we must have the ' Humming-Bird' 
out of this mill-pond, or her wings will be useless." 

The order was promptly obeyed, and the schooner 
was soon moving at the rate of three or four knots 
through the water, but the larger vessel was, in the 
meantime, coming down at treble velocity. As soon 
as the former began to feel the influence of the wind, 
•the sweeps were laid in, and all sail made to the north- 
ward, in the hope that the stranger would pass with- 
out heeding them. In this, however, they were disap- 



INCIDENTS OF A LIFE. 167 

pointed, for as the frigate was brought to bear abeam, 
they observed with anxiety that she edged away 
towards them. 

" I fear that we were deceived in our intelligence," 
said the captain, in reply to a look from Horner. 

" For heaven's sake, conceal your misgivings from 
Mr. Gillespie and his family while there is a doubt," 
asked Horner, to which the captain nodded assent, 
and proceeded quietly with his arrangements to elude, 
if possible, the grasp of his pursuer, for he now felt 
convinced that he saw the " Isabella." 

The best sailing of the schooner was by the wind ; 
instead, therefore, of keeping away, she was hauled 
close to it, and steered n. n.e., bringing the frigate 
to bear forward of the weather beam. 

Mr. Gillespie and his daughter, who had retired 
below when the sweeps were gotten out, now returned 
to the deck. Unconscious of danger, they looked 
admiringly upon the bright and beautiful scene. 
Nearly abreast, the island of Porto Eico was in full 
view, the dark rich green of its luxuriant growth of 
cane, varied here and there, by groves of the cotton- 
tree, among which were seen the settlements of the 
planters. Astern, but farther distant. Cape Engano 
stretched far to seaward, while inland, ridge over 
ridge, wooded to their summits, rose the picturesque 
mountains of St. Domingo. The numerous vessels in 
sight, mostly running before the wind, varying in size, 
in rig, and in the color of their canvas, enlivened the 
view, while nearer, the frigate, in her towering propor- 
tions, was borne majestically towards them. 



168 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

" Oh, father ! "What a glorions sight ! Look, May- 
Qard, at that noble ship ! But what is the matter ? 
You are silent, and seem dejected?" 

" In a moment, dearest," he whispered, as he left her 
to approach the captain, who had beckoned to him. 

" I am afraid," said the latter, '' that my little craft 
is in great peril, and less than an hour must decide her 
fate. The Spaniard will not be silent long, and I 
advise you to get the passengers below." 

" I was about to propose it," replied Homer ; 
and returning to Miss Gillespie's side, said, " Summon 
your fortitude, Mary ; the ship which you admire so 
much is a Spanish frigate endeavoring to capture this 
vessel." 

" Oh ! how unfortunate ! and will they harm you, 
and father, and Frank ? Good God, what is that ?" 
and she shrieked as the frigate luffed to the wind and 
fired a gun, the shot from which went plunging ahead 
of the schooner. 

" Come below, Mary ! Come quickly ! Help me, 
Mr. Gillespie, for she has nearly fainted." 

The maiden and her father were conducted to the 
most secure place below, and Horner returned to the 
deck which Frank refused to leave. 

At the first report of the gun, the Captain called out 
" Edge her away, keep her off a point ; let the guns 
alone," he added, addressing some of the crew, '' Let 
them be ; it would be worse than useless to fire ; the 
' Bii^d' must now trust to her wings alone." 

The little vessel was in fact at the very crisis of her 
fate. The gun just discharged, had told that they 



INCrDElSTTS OF A LIFE. 169 

were within reach of the shot of the enemy ; they felt 
that their only avenue of escape was through a 
gauntlet of fire, and that the loss of a single spar 
would insure their capture. It seemed perfect mad- 
ness for such a wee thing to abide the wrath of the 
huge leviathan, panoplied in thunder. But in the for- 
lorn and desperate hope of sustaining the enemy's fire 
for a few mom^ents, without material injury, the captain 
steadily pursued his way — but cut his anchors from the 
bows, and threw half of his guns overboard. Had the 
wind been light, the schooner's chance would have 
been a fair one, but instead of lessening, it seemed to 
freshen as the sun went down. There was a bare pos- 
sibility of escape, however, for already the little vessel 
lightened of so much weight, began to increase her 
velocity — still there was an abiding, a stunning fear, 
of being sunk by a broadside of the frigate. The 
latter had now opened her fire, and the fierce iron hail 
fairly lashed the water into foam ; but the schooner 
was yet materially uninjured, when a voice more 
potent than that of gunpowder, hushed the loud artil- 
lery. Unobserved by either, a light and fleecy speck, 
more like a whifi* of smoke than the fragment of a 
cloud, had risen over the land, and swift as a meteor, 
shot across the sky. It was what sailors term a " white 
squall," and it caught the chaser and the chased 
wholly unprepared. Almost instantaneously it struck 
them both. The frigate's foremast and main-top mast, 
went by the board, and every sail that was set was 
blown into perfect shreds. The little " Humming- 
Bird" felt the blast, but to succumb before it — she 
8 



170 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

was whirled over and capsized in an instant. Many 
of the crew were instantly drowned, while others 
instinctively clung to the keel. 

In a paroxysm of angnish, HoiTier leaped down 
the cabin hatchway as he felt the vessel going over, 
and at imminent hazard rescued Miss Gillespie, but 
her father and their servant perished. Frank owed his 
preservation to one of the seamen, who held him 
firmly with one hand, while he clung to the wreck 
with the other. 

The survivors, as soon as assured of their immediate 
safety, looked around for means of rescue. The frigate 
had driven past them, and under a single after-sail was 
hove to, clearing her hull of the wreck. The several 
vessels in sight had neither felt nor observed the 
squall, and were all too distant, and the air was fast 
becoming too obscure to attract their attention. 

Sustaining' his insensible mistress, with the aid of 
one of the seamen, Horner said all he could to cheer 
his companions. 

About an hour after dark, the moon rose, and her 
light silvered the crests of the waves as they curled 
before the now gentle breeze. She had scarce risen 
more than her diameter, when the watchers on the 
wreck discovered two or three dark objects which 
seemed to creep upon the water. Their hopes and 
their fears were equally excited, but, presently, they 
heard the splash of oars, and knew them to be boats 
from the frigate. As eager now to be taken as before 
to escape from caj)ture, by shouts and cries they 
attracted the notice of those who sought them. They 
were soon removed to the frigate ; the lady and her 



INCIDENTS OF A LIFE. 171 

brother being led to the cabin, and the remainder, 
including Horner, were promiscuously confined on the 
lower deck. 

Under jury foremast and a new main-top mast, the 
frigate was the next morning standing under easy 
sail, along the island of St. Domingo. 

Repeatedly, but ineffectually, Horner endeavored 
to convey a message to Miss Gillespie, and spent the 
night in sleepless anxiety on her account. He knew 
not into whose hands she had fallen, and whether her 
youth and beauty might not, with an unprincipled man, 
lead to ruffianly treatment. Her brother was with 
her, it was true, but he was young and feeble com- 
pared to the strong men around him. 

Early in the morning, he asked to see the lieu- 
tenant of the watch, but was told that he could not 
communicate with any one except through the officer 
of the marine guard, who would not make the round 
for several hours. When that officer did appear, and 
was told that a prisoner wished to speak to him, he 
superciliously asked — 

" Well, sir, what do you want?" 

" I wish," said Horner, '' to communicate through 
you to the commander of the ship, that I am a citizen 
of the United States, and with the family of Mr. 
Gillespie, was simply a passenger on board of the pri- 
vateer !" 

" Where are the proofs of your identity ? Have 
you a passport ?" 

" I had one, but with all my baggage it was unfor- 
tunately lost in the schooner. But here is her com- 



172 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

mander, who, as well as his crew, will bear testimony 
to what I say." 

" Let them answer for themselves," was the sharp 
reply. After a moment's panse, he added, " I will 
report what you say to Count Ureiia, our commander, 
but let me advise you not to rely upon the evidence of 
these wretches," pointing to the prisoners, " if you 
have no other proof, you will fare indiiferently." As 
he said this, he turned upon his heel, and walked 
away. 

Again, hour after hour passed away in fruitless ex- 
pectation. Every step upon the ladder which led from 
above excited a thrill of hope, only the instant after 
to be crushed in disappointment. At length, about 
2 P. M., an orderly with a file of marines came to con- 
duct him to the commander. He obeyed the sum- 
mons with alacrity. On reaching the main deck, 
from habits of association, he felt cheered at the sight 
of the great guns, the stacks of muskets here and there 
surmounted with their bristling bayonets, and the 
bright sheen of the sharpened cutlasses. As the cabin 
door was thrown open by the sentry stationed there, 
he cast a quick glance round the apartment, in the 
hope of seeing his betrothed. She was not there, and 
but for the guns projecting from either side, he could 
not have realized that he stood in the cabin of a man- 
of-war, so rich was its furniture, and so gorgeous its 
decorations. Gracefully festooned across the entire 
width and partially concealing the white and highly 
polished lattice-work of the after-cabin, was a deep 
crimson curtain, embroidered and fringed with gold. 



INCIDENTS OF A LIFE. 173 

On each, side, in the recesses between the guns, were 
magnificent couches canopied and covered with the 
same material intertwined with white, and between 
them and the ship's side, w^ere collections of flowers 
and fragrant plants. A large mirror in an arabesque 
frame, w^as inclined over a rosewood beaufet, laden 
with massive plate and a profusion of crystal. A 
richly chased silver lamp was suspended over a table, 
the cover of which was white cloth fringed, like the 
curtain, with gold. Around were a few elaborately 
carved chairs, and from several cages were heard the 
melodious notes of singing birds. The deck was 
covered with the finest India matting. 

On a couch, in the recess to the left, was seated a 
man of middle age, and rather delicate features, except 
the chin and under lip which were massive and sensual, 
and a peculiar glance of the eye, which gave a sinister 
aspect to an otherwise handsome countenance. He 
was spare in figure, and to a casual observer, even as 
he sat, it was perceptible that he stooped ; and his 
w^hole appearance indicated a frequent participant 
in the orgies of dissipation. Before him stood the 
officer of marines who had just made his official report. 
At a signal from the latter, Horner advanced towards 
the Count, who said,— 

" I understand, sir, that you declare yourself to have 
been only a passenger in the Humming-Bird, but that 
you have no evidence to sustain you. How can you 
expect me to credit the assertion of a stranger under 
such equivocal circumstances ?" 

" You have a lady on board, sir, my affianced bride. 



174 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

who, with her brother, were passengers as well as my- 
self. They will tell you that I am not an impostor." 

"Tom- affianced bride," said the Count, not heeding 
what he last said, " you are then the friend for whom 
she has been so uneasy ?" 

" I knew that she would be so," replied Horner ; 
" May I now ask to see her, that she may corroborate 
what I have said ?" 

" Not so fast," exclaimed the Count, " that you have 
gained the affections of the young lady, is no proof of 
your being what you profess — indeed, you may have 
won them under an assumed name and character." 

"It ill becomes you, sir," cried Horner, very 
much incensed, " it ill becomes you to insult a man 
who for the time being is in your power ; but I warn 
you that if I, or those with me, are unnecessarily 
detained or harshly treated, you will be held to a 
severe reckoning." 

" And by whom, sir," exclaimed the Count, turning 
pale with rage; " by a man who has no other vouchers 
to a most improbable tale, than a horde of pirates, a 
mere boy, and a love-sick maiden." 

" The proofs are sufficient, sir, for any impartial 
judge, but I see plainly that you have some purpose 
in seeming to disbelieve them ; what that purpose is, 
your conscience best can tell." 

" What mean you, sir, by this insolence ; but I know 
how to curb and punish it." 

" Insolence and punish," contemptuously answered 
Horner; ''those are words used by cowards when 
addressing slaves. I defy alike your malice and your 



INCIDENTS OF A LI¥E. 175 

power. Ton may maltreat us, bnt a day of reckoning 
will sm-ely com.e. I demand to see Miss Gillespie and 
her brother," he added, as his ear caught the sound of 
sobs in the after-cabin. 

The Count pulled the bell-rope as he spoke, and 
at the summons the sentry stationed without the door 
opened it, and with hand to cap awaited his direc- 
tions. The latter, pointing to the door, said, — 

'' Mr. Manuel, take out your prisoner and confine 
him apart from the rest ; sentry, let them pass." 

Horner hesitated for a moment, and then said, — 
" I am unarmed, and it would therefore be madness to 
resist you ; but, in the name of humanity, I ask, can 
you listen unmoved to the distress of the lady within 
there ; as a man, an officer, and a nobleman, I appeal 
to you. She has recently lost her father as you know, 
and except myself, her young brother is now her sole 
protector." 

" She will be sufficiently cared for, sir, without your 
interference. Take out the prisoner, Mr. Manuel." 

The above conversation had taken place in Spanish, 
which Horner spoke fluently ; but when he found 
that for some sinister purpose he was not permitted to 
see Miss Gillespie, he advanced towards the lattice- 
work and called out in English, " Mary, dear Mary, 
be upon your guard ! Frank, I fear that she is in the 
hands of a villain. Do not leave your sister for a mo- 
ment." 

" That I will not," cried the boy, who vainly tried 
to force the door, while his sister sobbed convulsively. 



176 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

The Count, although he did not understand the lan- 
guage, comprehended the import of the words, and 
with a gesture of impatience, motioned the officer to 
take the prisoner away. 

Horner, satisfied that the danger w^as lessened by 
the timely warning he had given, submitted without 
resistance, and was led fi^om the apartment. 

When left alone, the Count remained for some time 
thoughtful. ^' If I could but speak their horrid lan- 
guage," he said, soliloquizing, " or if she understood 
mine, I could certainly win her. But I must know 
how matters exactly stand between her and this 
would-be bridegroom. Let me see : can I trust Gon- 
zalez? From the expression of his eye, sometimes, 
as well as from his never speaking of her, I fear that 
he knows all about his unhappy sister. And yet, I 
must trust him or abandon all, for he is the only inter- 
preter we have. There is no help for it : I cannot 
give up the game so freshly started; but I will be 
wary, and watch him closely." He slightly touched 
the bell. " Send Gonzalez to me !" he said to the 
attendant who obeyed the summons. 

A few moments after, a young man of twenty-three 
or twenty-four years of age entered the cabin, and 
bowing to the Count, awaited his commands in silence. 
From his spare figure, he looked taller than he really 
was. His hair and moustache were glossy black, and 
curled in rich luxuriance. His eyebrows formed one 
continuous arch, and the eye beneath, black and lus- 
trous, was subdued in its ordinary expression, but 
at timco, in a single glance, conveyed a startling 



INCIDENTS OF A LIFE. 177 

idea of latent energy. His features were almost femi- 
ninely regular, and his voice musically clear and 
sweet. 

The Count's fears were not without foundation. His 
secretary, (for such was the position of Gonzalez,) 
knew his sister's wrongs, and, like a true Spaniard, 
longed for an opportunity to revenge them. His com- 
mander for some minutes scanned him closely where 
he stood, the j^oung man at first returning his gaze 
with a look neither too humble nor yet audacious, and 
then deferentially turned his eyes in another direction. 

" What is the matter, Gonzalez ? You seem of late 
unusually taciturn and mood3^" 

" I think, Senior, that my health is suffering from 
long confinement to the ship. I need recreation on 
shore." 

" "What mean you by long confinement ? Were you 
not repeatedly on shore last month in Havana ?" 

" No, S(.n )r ! if you will recollect, I applied several 
times for permission, but, on each occasion, you had 
important letters or despatches to write." 

" Did you hear from home before we sailed ?" and 
the Count's look became intently riveted upon him. 

The young man slightly colored. " I heard indi- 
rectly, Seiior, that all were well." 

'' From whom ?" 

'' From a muleteer who resides in the adjoining vil- 
lage." 

" Did he give you no particulars ?" 

" None, Seiior, worth relating." 

The Count paused. He was dissatisfied, yet feared 
8^ 



178 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

that by further questioning tie might excite the very 
suspicion he wished to quell. Assuming a blander 
tone, he said, " I have been to blame, Gonzalez, and 
will make amends. When we arrive in port, you shall 
have ample opportunities to recruit. Should you need 
funds, consider my purse at your service." 

'' Thanks, Seiior : my salary is sufficient for all my 
wants." 

" Well, bear my offer in remembrance : but come 
nearer — I have something confidential to impart. You 
are aware that the lady rescued from the wreck last 
night, is now in the after-cabin ?" 

" I am, Senor." 

" One of the prisoners, doubtless an impostor, 
assumes that she is betrothed to him. I wish you to 
see her and ascertain how she is affected towards 
him." 

" It is needless, Seiior. At the invitation of Lieut. 
Mores, I accompanied him in his boat last night, and 
in rescuing the prisoners from the wreck, witnessed 
how tenderly that lady clung to the man you speak of." 

" It might have been the convulsiveness of fear." 

" If so, Senor, it would have subsided with the 
occasion which gave it birth ; but it continued to the 
last, and while she evinced for the lad the solicitude 
of an elder sister, she seemed to regard the American 
as her chosen and her sole protector." 

" Why were they separated ?" 

" I understood by your orders, Seiior," replied the 
youth, with an air of surprise. 



INCIDENTS OF A LIFE. 1V9 

" I mean," said the Count, somewhat confused, 
" how did they bear it f 

" He was, at jfirst, disposed to resist, but a moment 
after submitted with an air of stern resignation." 

" And she ?" 

'' At first seemed bewildered and could not compre- 
hend the purport of the order ; when she did so, she 
implored the American not to leave her ; but, when 
he whispered a few words to her, she too, submitted, 
and with such meek gentleness, as moved the hardest 
hearts to sympathy." 

" Sympathy," exclaimed the Count, angrily, " where 
there is no real distress, there can be no occasion for 
its exercise. In common humanity, I am bound to 
protect her from the arts of an impostor." 

There was a slight twitch of the Secretary's upper 
lip, but he said nothing. 

" At all events, I wish you to converse with her, 
Gonzalez. Try if you cannot reconcile her to a short 
separation from her friend, and assure her that as soon 
as I am satisfied that he is what he represents himself, 
he shall be free." 

The Secretary bowed in acquiescence, and the 
Count rising, led the way into the after cabin. It was 
fit for the boudoir of a queen. A carpet of the richest 
Persian dye and softest texture, was under foot. Ex- 
cept in front, the whole apartment was lined with 
fawn-colored tapestry ; and the windows framed into 
the after ports, had parti-colored curtains of fawn and 
cherry. An ottoman and several chairs were covered 
with embroidered damask corresponding to the tapestry 



180 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

and a small ricUy-carved cabinet was filled witli 
books. There was a pair of globes upon stands, and a 
barp and a guitar, mirrors and candelabras, with a 
few small, but exquisite paintings, completed the 
equipment of this cell of a Sybarite. 

"With dishevelled hair and eyes inflamed with 
weeping, in all the abandonment of grief. Miss Gilles- 
pie laid with her head upon her brother's breast, who, 
as the door was opened, threw his arms around her as 
if more perfectly to protect her. 

With a courteous air, and all the elaborate breeding 
of an artificial gentleman, the Count advanced and 
paid his respects through the medium of the Inter- 
preter. " Had she sustained no injury from the 
accident of the night before ? Had she recovered from 
her alarm ? Had she slept well ? Could he do any- 
thing for her ?" 

The three first questions she answered in mono- 
syllables. To the fourth, she made an effort to reply, 
but maiden bashfulness overcame her, and she looked 
imj^loringly to her brother. The youth construed her 
feelings rightly, and. said — 

" We wish. Sir, to see our friend Mr. Horner, who 
was a passenger with us in the schooner." 

" At present, it cannot be," said the Count, " but 
when we reach Havana he will doubtless prove his 
character, and he can then rejoin you; but," address- 
ing her, " so much beauty should not be marred by 
untimely grief. A few days more and your friend 
will be restored to liberty. Here, I cannot make a 
distiiiction between him and the other prisoners. 



INCrDENTS OF A LIFE. 181 

Permit me, therefore, to intreat yon to dry up your 
tears, and let a smile once more wreath itself upon yonr 
lovely cheek." 

" Say to him," asked Miss Gillespie, of the Inter- 
preter, " that I am in deep affliction. Yesterday, I 
lost my father, and now, when I am most helpless, 
I am, by his act, separated from the friend whom that 
father had chosen as my protector through life. I am, 
therefore, in no mood to listen to compliments, which 
would be ill-timed from any one, and from him, are 
absolutely insulting." 

The Count stifled his vexation, and said, '' I beg 
pardon for this intrusion, and will wait a more season- 
able time to express my sympathy and make a proffer 
of my services." So saying, he withdrew, leaving 
Gonzalez to gather the particulars of their history. 

An unprincipled man, in his sphere possessing 
almost unlimited power, the Count felt himself baffled 
by an unarmed prisoner and a helpless maid. 

" Till now," such were his thoughts, '' I fancied 
Dolores beautiful, but her features lack the harmony 
and intellectual grace of this northern Houri. At 
every hazard she must be mine. If all else fail, the 
drug must be resorted to. It is certainly the speedi- 
est, and I know not but that it is the best. To-morrow 
we will be abreast of Ozama, where my friend Don 
Castro resides, and to him I can send their seemingly 
inanimate bodies, as if for interment — but I am neg- 
lecting my first precaution" — and he rung the bell for 
the steward, a swarthy Italian, with the body of a 
man surmounted on the legs of a dwarf. 



182 THE MIDSHIPMAJSr. 

" Domingo," said his master, " go into the secret 
passage and watch Gonzalez, who is now with the lady 
and her brother. Note everything he does, and 
try to gather the purport of what he says." 

The steward obeying, disappeared through a panel 
that opened with a spring. 

In about half an hour Gonzalez came forth from the 
inner cabin and repeated what he had learned from 
the prisoners. When he had retired, at a peculiar 
signal from the Count, the panel flew noiselessly open, 
and the steward reappeared before his master. The 
account he gave was anything but satisfactory, and his 
master's brow darkened with mistrust as he listened 
to the recital. 

About sunset. Miss Gillespie asked if her brother 
and herself might be permitted to walk on the upper 
deck. Assent was most graciously given, and the 
Count himself escorted her. But finding that she 
would not converse, and that his presence was irksome 
to her, he smothered his vexation, and after a few 
turns left the orphans to themselves. 

It was an hour and a scene fitted to captivate the 
eye, and refresh the soul ; such was its soothing influ- 
ence, that Mary frequently found her mind wander- 
ing from the contemj^lation of the perils which envi- 
roned her. The night previous, the ship, driven 
before the blast, was whirled with resistless velocity 
on a bed of seething foam. Now, the gentle wind, 
borne from the land, wafted fragrance on its wing, 
and the sea, slightly rufiled, seemed to enjoy the 
refreshing embracS of its sister element. The gorgeous 



mCIDENTS OF A LIFE. 183 

western sky was tinged by the hues of the setting sun 
— to the south and east was a boundless expanse of 
blue, and the mountains of St. Domingo, lofty and 
picturesque, bounded the northern horizon. 

The sun had gone down, and the moon was up ; still, 
Mary Gillespie paced the deck with her brother. It 
was evident that she had some purpose in view, and 
bv those who watched her, was observed to cast fre- 
quent, uneasy glances around. At length, a figure 
that had been stealthily gliding along under the sha- 
dow of the lee bulwarks, suddenly stepped forth and 
whispered, " Lady, I have failed to see him ; but 
some time to-night, will surely succeed — say nothing 
—I see a man's head above the rail, and fear that he 
has been observing us. I must away ; take this and 
read it as soon as possible." He handed a small 
folded paper as he spoke, and immediately disap- 
peared. 

Mary slipped the paper into a book she carried in 
her hand, and soon after turned to leave the deck ; as 
she did so, some one pushed rudely against her, and 
the book fell. This person, availing himself of her 
confusion, instantly picked it up, and in seeming 
eagerness to return it, let it fall a second time. Seri- 
ously alarmed, Mary now snatched it up, and hurried 
below. Unfortunately the paper was not to be found? 
and she gave way to the most direful forebodings. 

That evening, as once a week it was his wont, the 
Count supped with his officers in the ward-room, 
where he remained until near midnight ; but, in the 
meantime, his diabolical agent had not been idle. 



184 ' THE MIDSHIPMAN* 

About 11 o'clock, Frank and his sister were sensible 
that they were inhaling an aromatic and fragrant 
yapor. At first, they enjoyed it, but it soon occurred 
to them that they were fast sinking into a lethargy. 
With desperate exertions they endeavored to force the 
door, or to obtain assistance by loud and vociferous 
outcries. The breeze had unfortunately freshened, 
and there was much tramping and running about on 
deck, so that their cries were unheard, or, if heard, 
unheeded. One would suppose that this agitation and 
fear would have proved an antidote to the insidious 
effects of the drug ; but no ! gently, imperceptibly, 
they felt their systems relax ; they soon began to 
wonder at their alarm ; a delicious languor enthralled 
them, and as volume after volume of the scented 
vapor rolled into the apartment, they surrendered 
themselves to its influence, and pressed in each other's 
arms, were soon wrapped in a profound sleep. 

About an hour before, Horner, to whom the night 
previous had been a restless one, although racked 
with anxiety, had fallen into a light and fitful slumber, 
when he was awakened by a hand pressing upon his 
chest, and a voice whispering in his ear, " Do not 
speak, but foUoW' — imitate my motions as exactly 
as you can, and for God's sake be cautious." 

The speaker, who was lying beside him on the deck, 
then rolled over towards the hatchway ; but when the 
sentry turned in his round, he remained perfectly still. 
This he repeated slowly and cautiously, Horner fol- 
lowing his example, until they reached what sailors 
term the " combings" of the main-hatch, i.e. the elevated 



mCIDENTS OF A LIFE. 185 

pieces aronnd it, to prevent the water from running 
into the hold. Gonzales, for it was he, waited there 
for some time, until he saw the sentry loiter at the fur- 
thest end of his round, when he quietly threw himself 
down the hatchway, and crept on one side, out of 
sight. As soon as Horner had followed his example, 
he led the way over casks and barrels. When they 
had proceeded a short distance, he whispered, " The 
master's mate of the hold, who is a fellow town'sman 
of mine, had this passage opened for me to-day. If 
he had refused — and for a long time he hesitated, that 
villain would inevitably have succeeded in his plan." 

'' What plan ?" eagerly asked Horner ; " I know not 
who you are, or whither you are leading me. Ex- 
plain." 

" You will soon know me ; but let it content you 
now that I lead you to save your mistress. But that I 
feared the interference of that ruffian, the steward, I 
would have gone alone." 

" Lead on, then ! lead quickly !" said Horner, his 
fears strongly excited. 

They resumed their way, groping along in the dark, 
and taking every step with the greatest caution. They 
succeeded in reaching first the main, then the upper 
deck, and thence separately, found their way through 
one of the ports, to a narrow platform on the outside, 
to which the lower rigging is set up, and there con- 
certed their future movements. 

The convivial party in the ward room had been 
broken up by a squall ; and with the other sea-officers 
the Count repaired to the quarter-deck. Eor a short 



186 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

time the wind blew with violence, and was accompa- 
nied by a heavy fall of rain. In less than an hour 
after there was a perfect calm, and the ship gently 
swayed with the undulation. 

In the after-cabin, the solitary lamp, through the 
vapor, shed its soft light upon the rich and costly fur- 
niture, and revealed the forms of the sleepers, whose 
deep breathing alone proclaimed their existence, so 
immovable was their position, so much deprived did 
their bodies seem of the watchful guardianship of the 
spirits within them. The fragrant odor, the attenuated 
vapor, the faint and silvery light, the boy wdth his 
noble brow undimmed by sin or sorrow, — the lovely 
maiden, one arm upon her breast, and one clasped 
around her brother, formed an atmosphere and a 
group, in and around which, angels might love to 
linger. But a serpent had stealthily glided in. 

Satisfied from the profound stillness that the drug 
had begun its work, the Count entered the apartment, 
and, approaching, gently touched, then breathed upon 
and called them by their names, and then more rudely 
shook them. As he anticipated, they were insensible. 
The stillness was profound and death-like. He re- 
moved the boy from the girl's embrace, and, lost in 
admiration, gazed upon her wondrous beauty. Her 
pulse, though faint, beat steadily, and there was yet a 
flush upon her cheek. For a moment, he fondled her 
hand, and played with her silken tresses ; but, aware 
that he could remain no longer, for already he began 
to feel the influence of the vapor, before turning away, 
he stooped to kiss her moist and parted lips. 



INCIDENTS OF A LIFE. 187 

The desecration was prevented. A crashing blow 
descended upon his head, and he fell senseless on the 
deck. With one foot upon his prostrate form, and the 
massive bar again uplifted, Horner stood over him, 
while from a door Gonzalez looked on. 

" Hold !" said the last, as Horner was about to 
repeat the blow, " Hold ! another stroke may finish 
him, and that is a task reserved for me alone." He 
advanced as he spoke, and examined the wound. " It 
is a very severe contusion," he added, a moment after ; 
'' and if it had fallen a little more direct, the blow 
would have been a fatal one. He is now wholly insen- 
sible, and unless my skill in surgery fails me, will 
remain, for some days at least, in a perfect stupor. It 
is most fortunate. Let us place him in his room and 
retire. The infamous steward will not enter until 
morning, w^hen I will be hovering near. It is useless : 
nothing can wake them now," he added, as he saw 
Horner endeavoring to rouse the maiden ; '' but, 
that they may be safe, let me not forget the antidote." 
So saying, he produced a phial, and administered a 
portion of its contents to them. 

With a sighj Horner pressed his lips to the brow 
of his mistress, and turned to assist Gonzalez in re- 
moving the wounded man. They then effaced all 
traces of their presence, and, unbolting the door which 
led to the outer cabin, retired as they came, through 
the window of the quarter gallery. 

Long after the usual hour the next morning, the table 
was spread in the outer cabin for breakfast, but the 
steward did not dare to disturb his master. At ten 



188 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

o'clock, the drum beat to quarters for inspection. 
"When the First Lieutenant came to make his report, 
the steward expressed his fear that the Count was 
indisposed. 

" Has he directed that he should not be disturbed ?" 
asked the officer. 

The steward admitted that he had not. 

" Have you been called to him in the night ?" 

" No, sir." 

'' Then I must make my report." He advanced to 
the door and knocked, first gently, and then more 
loudly. There was no reply, and the officer turning 
the bolt, to the surprise of the steward the door 
yielded to the push. The Count w^as found lying in a 
profound stupor, the blood thickly clotted about a 
wound in his head. The orphans were buried in a 
sleep which the surgeon pronounced unnatural, and 
the steward was suspected of having drugged them to 
prevent an alarm, and afterwards attempted the life of 
his master. The miserable wretch was put in irons as 
the supposed murderer of a man in whose contem- 
plated villany he had been a participant. 

Light and baffling winds retarded the frigate, and 
on the evening of the fourth day after the incident 
above related, she had just cleared the Windward pas- 
sage, and with Cape La Mole astern, w^as standing along 
the northern shore of Cuba, for the port of Havana. 

The Count had lain in a comatose state since his 
accident ; and his heavy breathing and frequent 
moans showed how much pressure there was upon the 
brain, and how much he suffered. But this afternoon 



INCIDENTS OF A LIFE. 189 

his respiration had become more regular and less op- 
pressive, and in a few hours he awoke to conscious- 
ness and a sense of pain. By degrees, his recollection 
returned ; and after making a few inquiries, to the 
surprise of every one, he ordered the steward to be 
released and summoned to attend upon him. 

These two, the master just rescued from the grave 
and the servant, who would have found an igno- 
minious one, had that master perished, conferred for a 
long time together. After questioning his steward 
closely, the Count said, '' I am satisfied, Domingo, that 
it was not from your hand I received the blow. I left 
you in the forward cabin ; you could only have entered 
on the starboard side, and in that direction my head 
was turned, and I must have seen you. The blow was 
from the other side. Were you, at any time, absent 
from the cabin, after I went to the ward-room ?" 

" Not an instant, sefior." 

" It is strange ! Could entrance have been effected 
through the quarter gallery ?" 

" It must have been so, seiior, for here the paint is 
freshly rubbed." 

'' 1 suspect Gonzalez," said the Count : " indeed, I 
am sure that he has been concerned. But then, he 
had not the vigor to deal such a blow. That hateful 
American must have been the man. I will be deeply 
reveno;:ed." 

Late that afternoon, as Horner, seated aloof from 
the other prisoners, was grieving that Mary's perse- 
cutor had recovered the possession of his faculties be- 
fore the arrival of the ship in port — from which he 



190 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

feared the most serious consequences, the master's- 
mate, in passing, shook him ronghly and said, '' What 
are you brooding over ? Let me see if your handcuffs 
are secure," and stooping over as if to examine them, 
slipped a small fold of paper into his hand. Watch- 
ing his opportunity, the former read the note. It was 
from Gonzalez, in these words : " We are strongly sus- 
pected, if not discovered. I know it, from the search- 
ing examination I have undergone. We must fly, and 
reach Havana before the ship, if possible. Be on the 
alert for a signal. Here you are absolutely within the 
power of the tyrant. He will throw you into prison, 
and before your case can be investigated, months must 
elapse, and in the meantime your mistress will be lost 
to you for ever." 

The note agitated Horner exceedingly. It was 
agonizing to think of leaving Mary and her brother in 
the hands of their unprincipled captor, and yet, with 
Gonzalez, he felt sure that if he remained, his fate 
would be a dungeon, until her ruin Avas completed. 
His only consolation w^as founded on the hope that 
the Count would not recover sufficiently to carry out 
his nefarious design, before the ship reached her port 
of destination. This consideration determined him to 
escape if possible. 

There had been some water heated in the coppers 
(Anglice, boiler) for the purpose of giving the Count a 
prescribed bath. It was contrived that while the cook's 
attention was drawn another way, a piece of meat 
should be thrown in, which rendered the water greasy 
and unfit for its destined use. As had been antici- 



IKCIDEISTTS OF A LIFE. 191 

pated, the master's mate was directed to have more 
drawn from the hold. Accordingly he came upon the 
lower deck, and as he stepped from the ladder, beside 
which Horner was reclining, said " Look out," and 
passed immediately on. The latter, taking the hint, 
but uncertain how to apply it, remained for a few 
moments in great suspense, until the master's mate 
called the sentry forward to hold the light for him. As 
the latter obeyed, Horner availed himself of the 
opportunity, and hurried up the ladder, although yet 
uncertain if such were the plan concerted by his friend. 
He was very soon assured, however, for nearly abreast 
of him, from the shadow between two of the guns, a 
figure advanced a few steps, and immediately retired. 
It proved to be Gonzalez, and together they clambered 
out through one of the ports, and found themselves by 
the small skiff of the privateer, which had been saved 
from the wreck, and hoisted up immediately under 
the anchor in the waist. Fortunately, the wind had 
hauled nearly ahead, and with the yards sharp braced 
up, the ship was sailing sluggishly along, with her 
bow rather inclined towards the shore. 

" We must remain quiet here," whispered Gon- 
zalez, '' until some movement be made on deck, in 
the noise of which we can lower the skiff undetected.''' 

The wind was gradually freshening, and the ship 
began to plunge with the increasing swell. After 
awhile, the top-gallant sails were taken in, but it was 
an evolution so quickly performed, that before the 
boat had been lowered half the distance it was sus- 
pended from the water, the noise ceased, and they 



193 THE MlDSHIPMAlsr. 

were compelled to hold on. In about half an hour 
after, they were cheered with the welcome order, 
" Man the main clue-garnets and buntlines," prepara- 
tory to hauling up the mainsail. 

As the men ran away with the ropes, and clewed 
and gathered the large and heavily flapping sail to the 
yard, the two fugitives standing in the boat, succeeded 
in lowering and casting it adrift, and in the obscurity of 
the night the ship passed by without any one observing 
them. But they soon found that they had exchanged 
apprehended evils from human malignity for instant 
and appalling danger. 

"With incessant toil, in constant peril of upsetting, 
they gained at last the shore, and beached their frail 
boat on the strand of an unknown harbor. 

On one side of the sequestered little bay, through 
the dim and uncertain light, they discovered three or 
four huts, embowered and almost concealed by the 
umbrageous and productive banana, whose large, pen- 
dent leaves, waving in the wind, seemed at one time 
to beckon them on, at another, to warn them from 
approaching. 

It was evidently a fishing settlement; for there 
were some boats hauled upon the shore, and a long 
seine was suspended on a number of upright poles. 
Pulling towards what seemed the usual landing- 
place, as their light skiff grated upon the pebbly 
beach, they leaped overjoyed upon the silent shore 
— silent and mute in all that pertains to human action 
or the human voice — but eloquent, most eloquent, in 
the outpourings of a rich and teeming earth, and the 



INCIDENTS OF A LIFE. 193 

gushing emotions of thankfulness it awakened in the 
bosoms of those two weary and persecuted men. 

•Jf -Jf ^ -Jf -K- -Jf ^ 

It was the morning of the fifth day after the escape 
of the fugitives. 

The land breeze had subsided, and the flag that was 
wont to w^ave over the ramparts of the Moro Castle, 
hung listless beside the staff which supported it. 

Into the cavernous recesses, worn by the friction of 
the water in the foundations of the massive structure, 
the sluggish weaves tumbled wath a dull and deafening 
sound. In the near ofiing w^as the frigate, her sails 
flapping as she gently rolled on a light ground swell. 
Farther off*, were a number of vessels, awaiting, like 
the frigate, a wind to M^aft them to their various desti- 
nations. Beyond them, until it mingled with the 
distant horizon, there was nothing visible on the far- 
stretching and pellucid sea. 

Apart on the quarter deck of the frigate, sat Mary 
Gillespie and her brother, she, with an air of unmiti- 
gated sadness, he, chafing at a captivity which he 
deemed illegal. 

So long as Horner remained a prisoner, although 
confined apart and denied all intercourse with her, his 
mere presence in the same vessel gave her a sense of 
security. But now he was gone, whither and where- 
fore, she could not tell, and she felt as if she were 
abandoned to some horrid fate. But, to do her justice, 
her bitterest source of grief was anxiety for his safety. 
Had she heard nothing of him, she would have con- 
cluded that he was still among the prisoners, and by 
9 



194 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

the strict vigilance of his guards denied all opportunity 
of communicating with her. But her persecutor was 
too shrewd and malignant not to know that if he could 
persuade her of her lover's desertion, he might more 
reasonably hope for success. She was, therefore, soon 
informed of the escape, of which the missing boat was 
sufficient proof; and every representation was made 
calculated to impair her confidence and weaken her 
attachment. But, like a mail of proof, her own integ- 
rity protected her, and the malignant shafts fell 
harmless. 

Although young and inexperienced, scarce more 
than a nestling that had for the first time fledged its 
wing, this girl possessed the noblest attributes of her 
sex. Fervent and unselfish love, such as that sex 
alone can feel, does not harbor a doubt. Undying 
and unchangeable in itself, it cannot comprehend that, 
of the existence of which it is unconscious. Often 
placed unhappily, often denied the communion for 
which it yearns, it looks beyond the grave for the frui- 
tion of its hope. 

She had listened to the soft and hesitating whisper 
of proffered love; and her gushing eye and mantling 
cheek confessed that love to be requited. Her soul 
had mingled with another's in the most endearing 
union of life — the union of manly strength with 
shrinking beauty ; of skill to do and will to dare — 
with affection to sustain and fortitude to endure. Of 
man radiant with intelligence, with woman, the celes- 
tial link that binds him to a purer state. With a 
pledge as dear as it was enduring, they had sworn to 



INCIDENTS OF A LIFE. 19S 

preserve that -union until it should be merged into the 
holiest and most beautiful of all, which is effected in 
death ; when their souls, stripped of the mortal coils 
which encumbered them, and,wafted on wings of love, 
should soar upward and onward, until side by side, 
inseparable as in life, and inseparable for ever, they 
intoned their hymns of praise with the choir which 
surrounds the Eternal ! 

Could a woman capable of conceiving such a pledge 
ever falter, much less prove unfaithful ? Never. 
And Mary Gillespie was as unmoved by the insinua- 
tions of the wily Count, as is the placid moon by the 
bowlings of a hungry wolf. 

As the two orphans sat apart, occasionally exchang- 
ing a few words, and then relapsing into silence, the 
First Lieutenant, an old and worthy officer, who, from 
the want of family influence had long been denied 
promotion, touched by their sadness, approached, and 
respectfully accosted them. At first he confined him- 
self to inquiries respecting their health and comfort, and 
made some cheering observations on the prospect of 
their speedy liberation. He then, after musing a mo- 
ment or two, left them, and whispered a few words to 
the officer of the deck. The latter nodded intelligence, 
and immediately gave an order, which required those 
of the crew hovering about to go forward to aid in its 
execution. The First Lieutenant returning, said to 
Mary — 

" Young lady, I have two daughters at home, 
one of them about your age, and when I think how I 
should feel if either of them were in your unprotected 



196 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

sitiiation, I sympathize deeply with you. Indeed, I 
am not the only one. There is a general feeling 
among the officers to protect you if need be, and you 
may rely upon our disposition to serve you. And now 
answer me, frankly. Does your extreme sadness pro- 
ceed solely from your detention, and the escape and 
apparent desertion of your friend ?" 

" Oh no, Sir !" she replied, " whatever may have 
induced him to leave us, I am sure that he has acted 
for the best. You judge rightly in supposing that we 
have cause for anxiety apart from what proceeds from 
our detention, which must soon terminate" — 

" But," said the officer, ^' I have long sought an 
opportunity to speak with you. Why is it that you 
have confined yourself below ?" 

" We often wished to come up," she replied, " but 
have been heretofore told that the Count was too ill to 
be consulted — and that without his permission, we 
could not leave the cabin." 

" Aye, indeed," said the Lieutenant, " we were told 
otherwise." For some time longer he conversed with 
them, and before they separated advised them to keep 
always together, and to write a note to the American 
Consul in Havana, claiming his protection, and pro- 
mised if it were sent to him to forward it to its desti- 
nation. 

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ 

Horner and Gonzalez representing themselves as 
having escaped from a wreck, were kindly received 
at the little settlement where they landed, but declin- 
ing the hospitalities which were freely tendered, thej 



INCIDENTS OF A LIFE. 197 

merely asked for a guide to conduct them to Havana. 
After much fatigue and privation, and at one time ex- 
posed to imminent peril, they reached the Eeglos, a 
settlement opposite to the city, the very day on which 
the ship arrived. 

Afraid to venture out before nightfall, they remained 
quietly in the small room of an obscure inn. They had 
been there a long time without seeing or hearing any 
one, when, about an hour after the ship had anchored, 
they heard footsteps on the creaking staircase, and a 
voice called out, — • 

" Is there any one above, Marguerita ?" 

" There were two sailor-looking men this morning," 
replied a female voice, " but they must have gone out, 
for I have heard nothing of them since dinner." 

" We will see,'*' said the first ; but Gonzalez was too 
quick for him. At the first word he had started from 
the bed, and slipping noiselessly to the door, turned 
the bolt and withdrew the key. 

The party, consisting of three persons, came up in 
the meantime, and two of them proceeded to an adjoin- 
ing room, while one stopped and tried the door. In a 
few moments, he rejoined his companions, saying, 
'' All safe ! they are out." 

When Gonzalez started up and hurried to the door, 
Horner was struck as much by the expression of his 
countenance, as at the movement itself, and he conti- 
nued to watch him in silent amazement. But a few 
moments sufficed to convince him that his friend was 
not insane. When the person who tried the door 



198 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

had retired, Gonzalez stepping lightly to the bed, 
whispered, — 

" Don't make the slightest noise — it is the rascally 
steward, with some of the cnt-throats y/ho resort to 
this side of the harbor. The Count has some 
design afoot, and Providence has sent us in time to 
save that unfortunate lady." 

Horner needed no more ; and, with their facul- 
ties on the full stretch, they listened attentively, and 
gathered almost every word of the conversation in the 
next room. 

vv vv w TT w VV* 

About the usual hour, the sea-breeze set in ; 
and, sailing by the towering fortress on the one 
hand, and the beautiful structm-es of the town, with its 
crowded wharves and numerous shipping on the other, 
the frigate, late in the afternoon, anchored in the 
upper harbor of Havana. ^. 

Frank Gillespie, who was no longer restricted to 
the cabin, watched his opportunity, and slipped 
into the old Lieutenant's hand a note, with which 
his sister had entrusted him. Soon afterwards, the 
Captain of the port came on board, to pay his 
official visit. The Lieutenant, who was well ac- 
quainted with him, took an opportunity of handing 
him the note, with the assurance that it was on im- 
portant business, and exacted a promise that he would 
transmit it, without delay, to the American Consul. 
The officer promised to attend punctually to the 
commission, and the kind-hearted Lieutenant, with 



tN"CIDENTS OF A LIFE. 199 

great satisfaction, saw him, a short time afterwards, 
take his departure for the shore. When the ship was 
moored, the Count, professing to be nnable to go him- 
self, sent the First Lieutenant to wait upon the Ad- 
miral. Very soon after, a boat came alongside, and 
the person in charge stated that he bore a message for 
Miss Gillespie and her brother. The American consul 
was absent, he said, and w^ould not return for a day 
or two ; but his wife had prepared rooms for, and 
would gladly welcome them. The message ended 
with an entreaty that they would come at once. They 
needed no persuasion, and, making their brief prepa- 
rations, with indescribable joy took their seats in the 
boat, and bade adieu to their floating prison. 

When his myrmidons came with the boat, the Count 
had every reason to believe that his plot was in a fair 
train for execution, and yet he felt restless and uneasy. 
The critical period between the conception and con- 
summation of any conspiracy, even when the judg- 
ment sanctions, and the true heart approves it, is the 
most trying of all the situations in which human na- 
ture can be placed ; but, w^hen the object is detestable., 
the means base and treacherous, and the agents em- 
ployed unprincipled, then, the suspense must be tor- 
turing ; for the slightest accident, the most trivial 
indiscretion may frustrate, and the faithlessness of the 
least trusted agent betray the best-concerted plot that 
was ever laid. 

For some days, the Count had feigned to be weaker 
than he really was ; and no sooner had Frank and his 
sister left the cabin, than he sprung from his coucli, 



200 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

and leaned out of one of the ports to see them em- 
bark. 

It is said that the Evil One favors his own ; and in 
this instance the adage was verified. No one had yet 
descended the side, and as the Connt cast his scru- 
tinizing glance in every direction, his quick ear de- 
tected the light splash of an oar. Withdrawing in- 
stantly, he extinguished the lamp, and, returning to 
his position, in a few moments, as his eye became 
accustomed to tlie obscurity, he saw indistinctly^, a 
small boat, but could not make out how many persons 
it contained. It w^as,he thought, most probably, some 
poor fisherman laboring for to-morrow's subsistence. 
Guilt, however, is always suspicious ; and, without 
being able to assign to himself a reason for his mis- 
givings, he summoned the steward, and gave him a 
few hurried instructions. The latter, immediately 
after, slipped through one of the ports, and, unseen 
from the upper deck, descended into the boat just 
before it shoved off. The fears awakened by the sight 
of that tiny boat had induced the Count to change his 
plan. 

As the boat with Frank and his sister pushed off 
from the frigate, the smaller one, containing the two 
friends, which had hovered at a distance, pur- 
sued the same direction. They first pulled for some 
distance up the river, until it had passed the city, and 
then stopped at the landing of a neat villa. 

'' I do not understand this movement," said Gon- 
zalez. " They have stopped at a posada, to which, in 
their evening rides, the citizens usually resort for 



ESrCIDENTS OF A LIFE. 201 

refreshment. There must be some change in their 
plan since we heard them discuss it." 

In the meantime, the other party had landed and 
entered the house. Those who, under the shadow of 
the opposite bank, observed them, immediately deter- 
mined to land also ; and, giving way with their oars^ 
had nearly reached the line of light, when Gonzalez 
called out, " Hold ! back ! back your oars, quickly ! 
they are returning." 

They again retreated within the shadow, and saw 
two men, followed by a third, bearing the lady to the 
boat, in which they placed her, and immediately 
shoved off from the shore. 

" I now understand it all," whispered Gonzalez to 
his companion. " They have decoyed the brother into 
the house, and left him there. I am sure, too, that the 
lady is gagged ; for she does not cry out, although she 
struggles desperately. Stop ! what are you about ?" 
he cried, as he saw his friend begin to ply the oars 
with all his might. 

" Can you ask me, with such a sight before us ?" 

" Nay : put by your oar, I entreat you. Your pre- 
cipitation will ruin all. They arc double our number, 
armed with carbines, and would slav us before we 
could cope with them ; and then, farewell to all hopes 
of the lady's rescue." 

'' What shall we do, then ?" asked Horner, as he 
despairingly rested on his oar. 

" Follow them, as we first proposed, and concert our 
plan after we have seen to what place they convey 
her." 

9^ 



202 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

" Gonzalez," said the former, " you have not so much 
at stake as I in this matter, and you are therefore less 
agitated, and better qualified to decide on the course 
we should pursue. I will not be rash if 1 can help it ; 
but cannot again lose sight of Mary. Her brother 
is now torn from her, and I am her sole protector. I 
will die before I desert her for an instant." 

" 1 have told you of my sister," said Gonzalez ; 
'' and you must know that a motive impels me, 
which is as powerful as your own. Love is your 
incentive, and revenge is mine. Yours is the most 
impetuous ; but mine, as the more cautious, is the 
more certain to effect its object. I pray you, be 
moderate." 

" I will, Gonzalez, with the condition I have 
named." 

While speaking, they followed the movements of 
the other boat, which proceeded about half a mile far- 
ther up, when the party again landed. The smaller 
boat was run ashore a short distance below, and the 
two friends crept along under cover of the thick brush 
that lined the bank, to within a few paces of the ruf- 
fians. A carriage was in waiting, the driver standing 
beside it. As soon as the latter saw the first party, he 
opened the door, let down the steps, and, assuming the 
reins, ascended the box. Two of the gang forced the 
lady into the carriage, and followed after ; a third 
closed the door, and mounted beside the driver. 
While this was taking place, Horner was endeavor- 
ing to free himself from the grasp of Gonzalez, who 
tried to detain him. With a violent effort he sue- 



INCIDENTS OF A JJUfE, 203 

ceeded, and springing forward, leaped upon the foot- 
board of the carriage, just as the driver applied the 
lash, and the horses started off at half speed. The 
remaining ruffian, seeing some one rush by, turned to 
pursue and give the alarm, when Gonzalez sprung 
upon him, and, violently struggling, they fell to the 
ground. 

The carriage, with the ruffians, the victim of their 
toils, and that victim's determined champion, was 
driven at a rapid rate for a mile or more on the road 
which ran parallel with the stream, vrhen it turned 
short to the right, and pursued its course with undi- 
minished speed. Overcome by terror and exhaustion, 
Mary Gillespie had swooned away, unnoticed by her 
companions. At length they pulled up at a gate, and 
the man seated beside the driver got down to open it. 
Heretofore, Horner had remained at little risk, for the 
curtains of the carriage were down ; but, as the ruffian 
who dismounted would, in all probability, wait until 
the carriage had passed through, in order to close the 
gate, his detection was certain if he remained. There 
was no bush or cover to conceal him, but, on the right 
side of the gate was a large tree, just within the 
enclosure. While he hesitated what to do, the car- 
riage passed through the gateway, and one of the 
branches of the tree swept its roof. On the instant, 
quick as thought, he caught hold of the limb, and 
swung himself into the tree. The rustling noise he 
made startled the man who stood by the gate, and who 
had certainly been drinking freely. 

'' Hallo ! what's that?" he cried, and, springing up 



204 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

to the box, called out, " Drive on ! drive on ! It's a 
wild beast ! But I'll have a shot at it," he added, as 
the carriage rolled on, — and, turning partly round, dis- 
charged a pistol into the tree. 

With an imprecation, the driver had called out to 
his companion not to fire ; but he was too late, and, at 
the report, the horses, affrighted, ran off at full 
speed. 

The rufiians within the carriage, as well as the one 
without, were instantly awakened to a full sense of 
their danger. They were well acquainted with the 
place, and knew that a short distance ahead, at a turn 
of the road, there was an old quarry, which had a pre- 
cipitous fall of fifteen or twenty feet. As cowardly as 
he was base, each one thought only of his own safety. 
The ruffian in front clambered over the roof, and 
leaped off from behind ; the others forced open a door, 
and precipitated themselves one after the other from 
it ; and all fell with violence, and more or less injured, 
to the ground. 

Besides the fainting girl within the carriage, the 
driver alone remained ; and he, with his feet pressed 
hard upon the footboard, and his body bent forward, 
bore his whole weight upon the reins. Although they 
passed with almost breathless velocity, he accurately 
noted every distinct object along the road, and was 
prepared, at the critical moment, to turn the horses 
from the direction of the perilous chasm. With a 
quick eye and a ready hand, the instant that he saw 
the turn, with all his might he pulled upon the left 
hand rein. This over exertion ensured defeat. The 



INCIDENTS OF A LIFE. 205 

rein snapped asunder, and the horses, rushing head- 
long, were, with the carriage, precipitated over the 
bank. The driver fell upon some fragments of rock, 
and laid senseless and immovable. The horses, by 
their moans, and the faint efforts they made to extri- 
cate themselves, showed that they were severely 
bruised ; and Mary Gillespie laid on the battered side 
of the carriage, partly revived from her swoon by the 
shock she had sustained, and the excruciating pain she 
felt. 

Horner, unharmed by the discharge of the pistol, 
sprung to the ground, and hurrying after the carriage 
as soon as he saw that the horses had run away, 
reached the quarry soon after the accident had oc- 
curred. In his excited condition, it w^as but the 
work of a moment to extricate his mistress, and bear 
her scarce animate form into the neighboring wood. 
His first anxiety was for water, and, pursuing the 
declivity of the ground, in a direction leading from 
the road, be soon heard the trickling of a rivulet. 
Placing Mary gently beside it, on examination he dis- 
covered that she had received a severe wound on her 
temple, which bled profusely, and that her left arm 
was broken. The loss of blood, the cooling effect of 
the water, which he freely applied, and the pain she 
endured, all accelerated her return to consciousness ; 
and in a little while, she was enabled to thank her 
lover in expressions, brief, indeed, but touching. They 
had no time, however, for interchange of feeling. They 
were strangers, and upon the grounds of a powerful 
and persevering enemy. It was necessary to quit them 



206 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

as soon as possible, and to reach some place not peo- 
pled with the myrmidons, or subject to the jm^isdiction 
of the Comit. 

With the simple means at his disposal, the water 
which gnrgled at their feet, a few splints made of the 
twigs which grew around them, and bandages torn 
from his own garments, Horner soon dressed the 
wounds, and temporarily assuaged the anguish which 
Mary endured. She laid for hours, without a 
movement or a murmur. The heavy air v/as laden 
with fragrance, and, now and then, the pattering on a 
leaf w^ould tell how abundantly the dew was falling. 
He watched her in silence, until he perceived that her 
features were occasionally flushed from intensity of 
pain, and saw that it was necessary to procure shelter 
and medical attendance without delay. The night was 
now far advanced, and the laborers would soon be 
abroad. 

Prevailing upon Mary to make an effort, he sup- 
ported her, v/hile they slowly threaded their way 
through the thick and tangled undergrowth. After 
wandering for some time, they came to a hedge of 
cacti, some of the plants in full bloom, the tints of 
their gorgeous flowers heightened by the rays of the 
now rising sun. They turned into a path which ran 
along the hedge, with a forest of magnificent trees on 
the right — the Assumah,^ the Yalatli, and the lordly 
Frangij^an — with its dark green leaves and scarlet 
blossoms. On the other side of the hedge was an ex- 
tensive field of sugar-cane — an immense mass of 

* Spelled as they are pronounced. 



INCroENTS OF A LIFE. 207 

foliage of the liveliest green, its tops waving in the 
wind with a rustling sonnd that was borne onward 
until it died away in the distance. Beyond, the field 
was skirted by a forest, which ascended a slope behind 
it, and, becoming thinner as it ascended, left only a 
few trees scattered along the ridge which bounded the 
western horizon. But Mary, striving to conceal her 
weakness, and to suppress the moans which were eyery 
instant rising to her lips, and Horner, wholly en- 
grossed by anxiety for her, could neither of them 
enjoy the natm^al beauties of the scene. 

When they had proceeded a few hundred yards, 
they came to a lane which led immediately to the high 
road ; but here, Mary's strength failed, and, placing 
her on the road-side, her lover concealing his own 
fears, endeavored to cheer her with hopes of speedy 
relief 

TV TT w "3r w w 

When Gonzalez sprung upon the boatman, he took 
him so much by surprise, that he had hurled him over, 
and pointed a dagger to his throat, before the latter 
could muster sufficient presence of mind to defend 
liimself By threats of instant death, he then extorted 
from him all the information he desired. 

W w , TT W W W 

The First Lieutenant returned to the frigate about 
half an hour after Frank and his sister had left, and 
was delighted to hear that the American Consul had 
sent for them. Soon after he had made his report to 
the Count, the latter ordered his boat, and left the 
ship. Supposing that he was summoned on shore by 



208 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

some of the letters he had received, the old Lieutenant 
little dreamed that the departure of his commander in 
any manner had reference to the orphans. He believed 
them safe, and, with many claims npon his attention, 
dismissed them readily from his mind. 

The Connt steered his boat to the nsnal landing 
place, and, hiring a caleche, proceeded directly to the 
western gate. Here he was detained but a moment, 
for the officer, immediately recognizing his rank, al- 
lowed him to pass. Impatient of delay, he then took 
the reins himself, and drove with great rapidity. Once 
or twice, he thought that he heard the sound of horses' 
hoofs at a furious pace ahead of him ; but the rattling 
of his vehicle rendered the sound uncertain, and lie 
concluded that he was mistaken. On approaching the 
bacienda, he drove round to the rear of the enclosure, 
where he alighted, and, after paying the driver, 
opened the postern gate with a key he carried, and pro- 
ceeded directly to the house. To the attendant who 
obeyed his summons, he said impatiently, 

" The young lady, — where is she ? " 

'' In her chamber," was the reply ; and, in obedience 
to a gesture from his master, the servant proceeded 
along the corridor, and approached an apartment at 
its extremity. 

" Fools ! Why have they placed her there ?" mut- 
tered the Count. 

''Seiiur?" 

" Stand aside !" and pushing by the servant, he 
threw open the door, and entered the apartment. As 
he did so, he started back apjDalled and terrified. 



INCIDENTS OF A LIFE. 209 

Propped up on a bed, catching her breath with diffi- 
culty, was a dying woman. The blood streamed from 
her mouth and nostrils, and at each respiration gurgled 
in her throat. It was the young, the once pure and 
yet lovely Esperanza, the sister of Gonzalez. By the 
bedside stood her brother, regarding him with a look 
of deadly hatred, but without moving his arm from the 
sinking form it supported. The unhappy girl, with 
staring eyes and outstretched hands, strove in vain to 
speak to them. In the effort she was suffocated by a 
gush of blood, and fell back a corpse. 

" Conde de Ureiia," said Gonzalez, '^ behold your 
work ! I came here to protect the victim of your pre- 
sent plot, little dreaming of the sight that awaited mo 
— for, although aware of my sister's ruin, I did not 
know that she had been decoyed to this den of infamy 
That poor girl must be avenged ! Ton or I, on e or both , 
must bear Esperanza company." As he looked upon 
the bed, the tones of his voice softened with emotion, 
but recovering himself instantly, he advanced to the 
door, and secured it — then drawing a pair of pistols 
from his bosom, he sternly added as he presented 
them, — '' Take your choice. Sir !" 

"Not now! Not here! Another time!" said the 
Count, his cheek blanched, and his brow beaded with 
j)erspiration. 

" Here ! upon this spot ! this very instant !" shouted 
Gonzalez. " Vile seducer and murderer," he added 
" You have killed your man ! Where is your vaunted 
courage? Will that arouse you ?" and he struck him a 
fierce blow. The Count's face flushed, he clutched 



210 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

the weapon, and eyeing Gronzalez with a loot as vin- 
dictive as his own, sternly motioned him to take his 
position. 

Time was, when the nnhappy nobleman wonld have 
shrunk in horror from the very thought of a crime, 
the dreadful consequences of which, in all the appalling 
majesty of death, were then before him. And yet, 
more fiendlike than such a wretch, he stood in the 
concentrated hatred of a duellist, prepared to take the 
life of the brother of his victim. By a career of vice, the 
once honorable man had been converted into a demon. 

The combatants confronted each other, levelled 
their weapons, and fired so simultaneously, that the 
reports sounded as one. The pistol of Gonzalez was 
struck from his hand, and one of his fingers shattered. 
Heedless of the pain, he bent forward to see if his 
adversary were hit. The Count stood seemingly un- 
hurt before him, but the moment after, his weapon 
dropped, he pressed his hand to his side, and casting 
a look of anguish upon the body of the woman he had 
ruined, tottered, reeled, and fell upon the floor! The 
threat of Gonzalez was verified. Almost instanta- 
neously, two souls were summoned to their dread 

account. 

4f 4f % ^ ^ -ss- 

Mary and her deliverer were relieved and conveyed 
to Havana, where they found Frank Gillespie domesti- 
cated at the Consul's. It took some we^ks before the 
former was sufficiently recovered to permit them to 
embark for liome. During this time Gonzalez occa- 
sionally visited them by stealth, dreading a^^^sassination 



INCIDENTS OF A LIFE. 211 

by some of tlie connections of the late Count more 
than a legal investigation. Unhappily, his precautions 
were fruitless, and he fell by a vindictive hand, with even 
less time for preparation than he had given to another. 
His death was deeply mourned by his friends. He 
was indeed worthy of all regret — but a cloud had 
overshadowed his sun of life. He brooded over his 
sister's shame until existence became a burden, — and 
had he not found death by the hand of another, his 
impulsive nature might have led him to seek it at his 
owm. 

Our friends embarked soon after for New Orleans, 
and reached the Southwest pass of the Mississippi just 
as a gale was coming on. The country above had 
been overflowed by recent rains, and what between the 
current from within, and the swell without, they were 
greeted with a magnificent spectacle. The waves of 
the Gulf, driven before the gale, encountered the 
onward sweep of the waters of the mighty river. The 
sight forcibly reminded them of Kebecca's exclamation 
in Ivanhoe, — 

" God of Jacob ! It is like the meeting of two oceans 
moved by adverse tides !" 

"When the chastening hand of time had hallowed 
the memories of the dead, and substituted a Christian 
resignation for the bitterness of early grief, Horner 
and Mary were united, and through a since much 
chequered life, neither time, nor circumstance, nor 
prosperity, nor distress, has for one instant abated a 
feeling which is fixed and unalterable as their future 
destinies. 



CHAPTEE XIII. 

On reaching the seaboard, I found orders for one 
of the smaller vessels attached to the squadron of the 
gallant Porter, and destined to act against the pirates 
who infest the shores of St. Thomas, Porto Pico, St. 
Domingo, and Cuba. 

The whole country mourns the fall, and the profession 
pants to avenge the fate of the gallant and lamented 
Allen. This high-toned and intelligent officer, univer- 
sally respected, and dearly loved by all who knew him, 
fell, while upright and reckless of exposure, he cheered 
his men to victory. "With several boats, he attacked a 
piratical force in Seguapa Bay, and after the capture 
of one vessel, was standing in the boat encouraging 
his men as they bore down upon another, when he re- 
ceived a fatal wound. With victory almost in his 
grasp, he died too soon for his country, but not too 
soon for enduring fame. A short time after he was 
wounded, as he laid upon the deck of his vessel, 
an officer, maddened at the sight of his dying chief, 
seized a cutlass, and was about to plunge it into the 



A NOBLE EXCLAMATION. 213 

bosom of one of the captives, when his hand was 
arrested by the faint bnt distinct exclamation : " Ee- 
member, Mr. Henley, he is a prisoner." They were 
his last words. 

Thus perished the dutiful son and the kind brother, 
who, to support his sisters and his aged mother, lived 
a bachelor, and denied himself all the luxuries and 
many of the comforts of life. Not in his first action, 
when, one after another, his two seniors fell, and as 
they were borne below, he sprang upon a gun, ex- 
claiming, '' Boys, here's another William H. for you I""^ 
and with three cheers renewed the fight ; not, when in 
Manilla Bay, he coolly and skillfully prepared to op- 
pose an overwhelming force ; and not, when like 
Claverhouse, he fell with the cheer upon his lip, and 
the shout of victory ringing in his ear, did he so much 
claim our admiration, as when, with parting breath, 
he stayed the hand of blood with the exclamation : 
" Eemember, he is a prisoner !" 

Peace to his manes, for his was indeed a " bold 
spirit in a loyal breast." 

After a protracted delay in the most inclement 
season of the year, our commodore at length made 
signal " underweigh to get," and the little squadron 
made all sail, and stood to sea with a cold but favor- 
able wind. 

Pent within the narrow precincts of a vessel as 
small as she was, buoyant and fragile, our greenhorns 
one by one fell sick as we tossed and pitched and 

^ The two seniors were named William H. Allen and William H. 
Watson. 



21 i THE MIDSniPMAK. 

rolled about, while the ships of greater bulk, almost 
iriimoved by the swell, seemed like philosophers on 
the stage of life, to regard our restlessness with com- 
passion. 

The thermometer soon indicated that we had crossed 
the Gnlf stream ; the breeze freshened, the swell of 
the sea increased, and our boat, for she was no more, 
washed by the crest of every wave which toppled over 
her low bulwarks, was thoroughly wet and uncomfort- 
able. 

During the night it was very squally ; sail after sail 
was successively taken in, and, at length, we were left 
with only a single stay-sail set, while the lightning flash- 
ed around us, and we watched in deep anxiety the ap- 
proach of a terrific whirlwind on the water. The 
outer current only reached, but it was sufiicient 
nearly to upset us. The stateliest ship, once encircled 
by that mighty wind, w^ould have been whirled and 
torn in shreds and fragments. 

T^e next morning presented a sight wild even to 
sublimity. The sun, struggling through a bank of 
clouds, shorn of his splendor by the opposing mist, 
cast his angry glance across the troubled ocean, and 
revealed our scattered fleet, like affrighted wild fowl, 
scudding before the gale. 

Sometimes a wave, like some huge monster rising 
from the deep, looked down upon us black and threat- 
ening ; and then, as if disposed for further gamboling, 
rolled its seething foam along the sides, and rushing 
ahead and gathering into one mighty mass, seemed to 
await our coming. 



A PLACID SCENE. 215 

On the second claj after, tlie gale abated, and with 
tlie wind, the sea subsided. AYe were separated from 
the fleet, and running eight knots per hour with a 
favorable breeze, and occasionally a rain-sqiiall passed 
over, but we felt that we were approaching the more 
genial climate of the troj^ics. The air became less 
humid, and the clouds, although dense, were less ragged 
and threatening. 

That night was beautiful. The moon burst through 
the clouds, and tipped their crests and edges with a 
silverr lio-ht. The sea, sublime but restless, heaved 

I/O J J 

its troubled waves in tumultuous agitation, and our 
vessel rolled gracefully, even while it rose and 
plimci'ed at times with startling; velocitv. 

The morning after, the sun rose upon a placid scene. 
The lio:ht breeze iust ruffled the surface of the water, 
on which, the white caps, sj)arkling in the sunlight, 
chased each other; and near by, with her tall spars 
vibrating like inverted pendula, was an English brig- 
of- war, with her ensign at the peak. 

The American immediately beat to quarters and 
hoisted his own colors in return, w^hen, to his astonish- 
ment, the brig fired a shot ahead of him. 

" Return it, Mr. D.," called the Captain to the First 
Lieutenant, who had sprung to the long gun ; " and 
aim directly at her hull." 

The gun was discharged, and the shot passed 
through the mainsail of the brig, immediately over the 
head of the officer of the deck. 

Almost before the report has ceased, the Yoice of 
the Captain was heard : 



216 THE L::r.s:iir:^iAN. 



u 



Bear up, and steer directly for her! Away! — 
boarders away ! Stand by to lay her aboard, sir ! " 

" Aye, aye, sir," was the quick response of the First 
Lieutenant, and forty men, reckless of life, and ready 
for adventure, sprung forward, pistol and cutlass in 
hand. 

The brig, taken unawares, with her guns secured, 
and only a morning watch on deck, was compelled 
to bear up also until she could summon her crew to 
quartei^, and the singular sight was presented of an 
exceedingly small schooner chasing a heavy armed 
brig of war. 

While our vessel eagerly pressed forward, the wary 
commander of the brig continued his flight, but he 
hastened preparations to punish his puny assailant. 
During this short interval, the Englishman repeatedly 
demanded her name and character ; but her com- 
mander refused to comply until informed what vessel 
it was that had dared to insult the flag he wore. Most 
probably, beginning to be aware of his mistake, the 
English Captain at length announced that the vessel 
he commanded was H. B. M. brig Buzzard, and that 
the shot had been fired in the supposition that our 
vessel was a pirate. An explanation now took place, 
and when they parted, the American Captain, with 
many compliments, received an acceptable present of 
fruit from the commander of the brig. It is thus that 
brave men respect each other. 

We soon after reached our rendezvous at St. Thomas, 
where, one by one, our vessels successively arrived. 
Our feelings were here harrowed with the recital of 



A PIKATE VESSEL. 217 

an act of piracy committed almost in the very mouth 
of the harbor a few weeks previous. 

Mr. Schmidt, the owner of an extensive plantation 
in Santa Cruz, was returning from Copenhagen, with 
his young bride, the daughter of a respectable clergy- 
man. He had chartered the cabin of the ship Zem- 
bla, for his wife, her sBrvant, and himself, and they 
w^ere the only passengers. After a pleasant passage, 
the ship hove to off the harbor of St. Thomas, to send 
some despatches on shore to the governor-general. 
The island of Santa Cruz, in full view, laid basking in 
the sunlight, and amid the shady groves and luxuriant 
cane with which its sloping sides are covered, Mr. S., 
with the aid of the spy-glass, pointed out to his bloom- 
ing partner, one of the most beautiful of the many 
country seats as their future residence. Her curiosity 
satisfied, she had turned her eyes to him, beaming with 
all the confidence of young affection, when they were 
interrupted. 

A large decked boat, seemingly one of those used 
for fishing on the coast, passed the stern, and sud- 
denly luffing short round, ranged alongside the ship, 
and about thirty desperate ruffians, armed to the 
teeth, sprung on board. 

The crew, few in number, unarmed, and taken by 

surprise, were immediately cut down. The captain, 

who had rushed below for his pistols, was slain as he 

ascended the companion-way. Mr. Schmidt was one 

of the first seized, and his wife, clinging closely to 

him, received a slight wound from the long knives of 

the pirates, which were thrust through his body. The 

10 



218 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

Bervant maid, cliased by the ruiSans, in her fright 
jumped overboard, and was drowned ; and Mrs. S. 
fainted away on the body of her expiring husband. 

So intent were the pirates upon gratifying their 
rapacity, that the helm was abandoned, and, for a 
short time, they paid little attention to the manage- 
ment of the ship. 

" Mr. Schumacker," said the quarter-master to the 
officer of the deck of a small Danish brig-of-war in 
the southern offing, " that ship to leeward is acting 
very queer." 

" How so, Jansen ?" said the lieutenant. 

" Why, a little while ago," replied Jansen, " she 
was lying to, with her main top-sail to the mast ; but 
now, she has drifted round, and is running before the 
wind" with her head yards braced up." 

"That is indeed strange," said the lieutenant. 
" Hand me the spy-glass.?' 

He looked steadily for some moments, and then 
calling a midshipman, said : 

" Report to the captain, sir, that there is a very sus- 
picious sail to leeward." 

Before the captain made his appearance, the ship 
had again hauled by the wind, and was standing along 
the land. But when her previous movements were 
reported to him, and the fishing boat was now seen 
drifting from her, he ordered all sail to be made in 
chase. As soon as his intention was discovered, the 
ship packed on all sail, evidently with the purpose of 
doubling the west end of the island. 

If the wind held steady, the chances were about 



A CHA9E. 219 

equal. Tlie brig, althougli a fast sailer, and to wind- 
ward, was yet so far ofi', that to reach the same point 
she would have to make the hypotenuse, while the 
course of the ship formed the base line of the tri- 
ano^le. 

The chase continued for some time with little change 
of bearing ; but as the ship approached the western 
extremity of the island, eddies of wind would whirl 
around the point, and take her sails aback. The 
pirates were, therefore, compelled to haul more from 
the land, w^hich brought the courses of the two vessels 
to a nearer converging point. With an enemy's shore 
on one side (the alarm had now spread along the land), 
and a fast-closing and vindictive enemy on the other, 
the fate of the ruffians seemed inevitable. 

The wind was blowing almost directly on shore, 
but the pirates persevered with a hardihood worthy of 
abetter cause. As the first shot from the brig came 
crashing through her side, the ship flew up into the 
wind, and the next moment braced sharp on the other 
tack, she was standing to the eastward. By this 
manoeuvre, the brig was brought on the starboard 
quarter, and the pirates began to flatter themselves 
with the hope of escape, when, as they again ap- 
proached the mouth of the harbor, they perceived 
several vessels, well manned, coming out to intercept 
them. The pirates now hauled more to the southward, 
bringing the brig on the starboard beam, and the ves- 
sels on the larboard quarter. But as shot after shot 
from the brig tore up the planking, or carried away 
a spar, it became more and more evident that the ship 



; 



220 THE MIDSHIPMAK. 

could not escape. At last, as the main top-mast fell 
. over the side, the pirates, abandoning hope, put the 
helm np, and to the astonishment of thousands con- 
gregated on the roofs of the houses, and on the ad- 
jacent hills, steered before the wind, directly for the 
anchorage. In a short time, the desperate purpose 
was revealed. A thin, light smoke, first arose ; then 
it grew denser and blacker, and presently a red flame 
burst forth, which, wreathing around the rigging, and 
encircling the spars, the ship, in one sheet of fire, 
rapidly approached the harbor. 

All was consternation among the shipping ; and 
w^hile the vessels that had started in pursuit, fled preci- 
pitately from the burning mass, the brig manned her 
boats, and attempted to board her. But men who 
had lighted their own funeral pyre were not to be thus 
subdued, and the boats fell back discomfited. The 
batteries of the town now opened their fire, and cin- 
ders and burning fragments were scattered in every 
direction. Still the ship held her onward course, and 
was almost up with the shipping, when, most probably 
from the burning of the tiller-ropes, she broached to, 
and groimded on a shoal. 

While the spectators gazed in wonder, and watched 
the figures of the wretched men as retreating step by 
step they reached at last the tafirail, the whole mass 
sprung suddenly into the air; aloud and deafening 
report succeeded, and the water and immediate shore 
were covered w^ith brands and packages, and scorched 
and mutilated bodies. 

On board of the fishing-boat was found an appren- 



BOAT EXrEDITIO^T. 221 

tice boy who had leaped from the cabin windows w^hen 
the ship was boarded, and catching hold of the deserted 
piratical boat as it drifted bj, gained her deck and con- 
cealed himself. 

Our fleet here separated ; the smaller vessels to 
cruise among the islands, while the ships repaired to 
Key West, preparatory to fitting out the boat-expedi- 
tions. Among others, I was a volunteer for this 
service, and at the expiration of a short time, found 
myself at that place, detailed for one of the barges. 
Our flotilla consisted of four boats, viz. — Gallinipper, 
Sand Fly, Gnat and Mosquito, under the command of 
Lieut Watson. They contained each, two officers, a 
coxswain, and sixteen men. 

Burning for adventure, and happily ignorant of the 
trials which awaited us, we started on a pleasant day, 
and with sail and oar, plied eighty miles across, to the 
island of Cuba. We reached it in safety, and hearing 
that the pirates had selected and fortified a place 
exceedingly difficult of access, our commander deter- 
mined to attack them. 

That our approach might be as secret as possible, we 
concealed our boats in a narrow inlet during the day, 
but at early dusk, the oars were manned, and the order 
given to proceed. A little after midnight a breeze 
sprung up, and taking in the oars, with the exception 
of an officer and the steersman of each boat, every one 
slept as he best could, upon the three feet by ten 
inches of space allotted to him. Our watchful com- 
m.ander sought no repose, but when those who slept 
awoke, thev found all sail taken in, and the boats 



222 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

lying qniet and motionless, near the mouth, of a river, 
waiting for sufficient light to enter it. 

It was the Sagua le Grand, the noted resort, the 
great stronghold of the pirates. 

As tint by tint, the light increased, the time was 
spent in silent preparation. Presently from boat to 
boat, the order was passed to '^ close in;" and we 
gathered around that of our commander. 

''My lads," he said, "this is no child's play we 
have undertaken. Whatever may be the force of the 
enemy, I am determined to attack him. "Will you 
stand by me ?" 

A loud murmur of assent was the reply. 

" Is your powder dry ? Are your flints good, — and 
your cutlasses well sharpened ?" 

He was told they were. 

" Then muffle your oars and follow me ; but make 
not the slightest noise, and wait until I give the 
word. TTien^ let your cry be no quarter^ and he who 
first boards the enemy, shall be highly recompensed !" 

At a signal we then fell into position, and our com- 
mander leading the way, we rounded the point, and 
rowed steadily but stealthily forw^ard. 

The river was broad at the entrance, but except in 
the channel, which was difficult to find and still more 
difficult to thread, it was very shallow. The headmost 
boat, sounding as she w^ent, carefully proceeded, and 
regulating our motions by hers, we followed in the 
strictest silence. Not a word was allowed to be 
spoken, and concealed by the tangled brushwood, 
which beneath the overhanging trees lined the banks 



ATTACK THE PIRATES. 223 

of the narrowing stream, an enemy, even at a very 
short distance, might have mistaken the slight noise we 
made, for the gambols of the water-fowl which were 
disturbed at our approach. 

After a space of time, brief in itself, but which 
seemed to us of interminable duration, we came to a 
wide ^lagoon, at the other side of which, half a mile 
distant, the pirates, as vigilant as we were cautious, 
were drawn up to receive us. Careened on a shelving 
beach, laid a merchant brig, the crew of which they 
had barbarously murdered. Along the shore were 
strewed bales and packages ; and a hut and a few tents 
stood within the verge of a grove of lofty trees. On a 
projecting point, was a battery of several pieces of 
artillery, and on the other side of the brig, but a little 
farther out, was moored an armed schooner with her 
broadside towards us. Both the battery and the 
schooner were crowded with men. 

As soon as we had pulled out into the lagoon, we 
formed our boats in a line abreast, and each man 
girded on his cutlass and stuck a pistol in his belt. 

" Mr. v.," said our commander to the next in rank, 
" as the battery seems the most formidable, I will 
undertake it. Do you take the Sand Fly with you, 
and board the schooner. Lose no time with the musket, 
Sir, but lay her aboard on different points, and put 
your trust in cold steel. Now give way men, and no 
quarter r'' 

The oars buckled to the word, the boats bounded with 
a spring, and we were soon in the midst of a rattling 
hail of grape and canister, which made the water foam 

^ Shallow lake. 



224 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

around ns, onr men cheering and shonting, as with 
rapid and furious stroke we bore down upon the 
enemy. 

I was attached to one of the boats directed against 
the schooner, and as we neared her, the scene became 
more and more exciting. Besides the boom of the 
cannon fired from the schooner and the battery, the 
lake and the shores around rang with the incessant 
peal of musketry, and the hurling of the iron and lead 
around us was dreadful. But as an oar would drop, 
and form after form sink from its place, the louder 
became the shout, the more vindictive the fury of our 
men. Ourselves upon the bow, the other boat farther 
astern, almost simultaneously, we laid the pirate 
aboard.' Tograp23le the side, to spring on the bulwark 
and leap upon the deck, amid muskets, pikes, and 
brandished knives, was the work of an instant. "With 
courage equal to our own, the pirates rushed forward 
to repel us, and a desperate hand to hand conflict 
ensued. 

The musketry had now ceased, and a pistol shot was 
but occasionally heard, but the clash of steel w^as 
incessant, and the silent but deadly thrust became 
more frequent. The shout of an officer as he cut down 
the swarthy pirate with whom he was engaged, was 
responded to by a wild cry of exultation from the 
men, and animated as by one spirit, we bounded 
forward with a cheer. A better cause and far more 
numerous force, could not have withstood our charge. 
The pirates gave way, slowly at first, but when our 
leader called out " push home, men ! and no quarter !" 



PIRATES DEFEATED. 225 

and the cry " no quarter ! no quarter !" was fiercely 
repeated, they turned, and springing to the side, leaped 
overboard, and endeavored to escape by swimming. 
Many of our men plunged after them sword in hand ; 
others jumped to the boats, and pursuing, cut them 
down as they overtook them, while another portion, 
from the deck of the captured vessel, deliberately shot 
them as they struggled in the water. 

On the part of those wretches, not a cry was raised — 
not a supplication uttered. When too hotly pursued, 
they turned to grapple where they could, and in silence 
they received the death wound, and in silence they 
sunk, their throats gurgling the water which was 
deeply crimsoned with their blood. 

Turning from the sickening sight, my eye rested for' 
a moment upon the slimy and death -en cumbered deck, 
when a shout on the shore reminded me of the battery . 

Our boats had grounded some distance from the 
beach, but our men leaping out hastily formed, 
and advanced boldly to the attack. They were warmly 
received, and the contest was still undecided, when 
we carried the schooner. But, when those in the 
battery saw their fellow-pirates leap overboard, they, 
also, took to flight. They were relentlessly pursued, 
and the scene which had been enacted upon the water, 
was repeated on the land. But few escaped ; and 
destroying what we could not preserve, we gathered 
their booty, and bore our prize away in triumph. 

Three days after, while Cruising along the coast, a 
suspicious sail was descried in shore, to which we 
immediately gave chase. We soon discovered that 



226 THE MIDSHIPMAIT. 

she was armed, aPxd her movements became less and 
less equivocal. At length, as we came within range 
of her cannon, she opened her fire and hoisted a red 
ensign. It was el Bandara de Sangre (the Bloody 
Flag), commanded by the most active, and at the same 
time the most desperate and remorseless of the 
ruffians. But his men were less brave or more consi- 
derate than himself, and after a few ineffectual dis- 
charges, some in boats and some by sv/imming, 
precipitately fled. We followed them to the shore ; 
and our men, in the eagerness of pursuit, became 
severally dispersed. The high matted grass, the thick 
brushwood, and the spongy, yielding soil, much 
retarded their progress, and the pirates, better 
acquainted with the locality, mostlj^ escaped. 

"When our party gathered around the watch-fire at 
night, one man, a marine, was missing. It was sup- 
posed that he had been killed by the fugitives, and 
many were the lamentations for his fate. But our 
commanding ofiicer who had remarked and appreciated 
the coolness and intrepidity of Morrison, thought dif- 
ferentlv, and said that he felt assured we should yet 
hear from him. 

The night passed away, however, and the sentries 
posted around, listened in vain for his footstep. In 
the morning, a detachment was sent to search in every 
direction for him. Warned by the supposed fate of 
onr companion, whose mangled body we expected 
every moment to find, instead of each one joursuing a 
different course, we were about separating into squads, 
when one of the men discovered a path, on which the 



A WARNING DEEAM. 227 

tracks of men were plainly discernible. We pursued 
it at a quick pace, and that pace was soon accelerated 
by the report of a musket. In a very short time, we 
came to an open space, in which, we beheld two men 
struggling desperately. 

It seems that, far more successful than his compa- 
nions, Morrison had captured and disarmed a pirate. 
Returning he lost his way, and long after night set in, 
perfectly exhausted with fatigue, he came to a halt, and 
permitted his prisoner to lie down and sleep, while he 
stood sentry over him. He dared not lie down him- 
self, for he knew that he would instantly fall asleep, 
when his prisoner, whom he had no means of securing, 
would unquestionably murder him. 

At one time he leaned against a small tree for a 
moment's rest. In that moment, sleep overcame him, 
and he dreamed that he was wandering with a fami- 
liar friend, through well-remembered scenes. Sud- 
denly, the scene became wild and changed, and the 
form of his friend assumed the features of the prisoner. 
Again, by another transformation, the form became 
iiiat of a huge serpent, which, retaining its human 
expression, seemed coiled, ready to spring upon him. 
His steps were arrested, and his blood curdled at the 
sight. Unable to move, he saw it rear its head, and 
heard it hiss and spit its venom. With one desperate 
effort, he strove to overcome the feeling which para- 
lyzed his limbs, and held him spell-bound. 

He awoke, and caught the riveted gaze of the pirate 
who had half-risen from the ground. 

The marine long hesitated whether to preserve him- 



228 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

self he should not destroy his prisoner. Once he 
raised his weapon, and the pirate, who, with half- 
closed lids, narrowly watched his proceedings, quiver- 
ed and shrunk with dread. A sigh — the sigh of relief 
which follows suppressed emotion — escaped him, as 
Morrison lowered his musket, and said : 

"I can't do it ; I'll take the chances first." 

In this manner, weary and anxious, sometimes 
dozing as he stood with his head upon his breast, and 
again waking with a start, as a passing gust agitated 
the leaves, or a rain-drop pattered beside him, he 
passed the long and dreary night. 

At the earliest dawn, he again set out with his prisoner, 
but scarce able to drag himself along, he staggered 
with feebleness, suffering more than all from an excru- 
ciating thirst, to the agonies of which watchfulness so 
much contributes. At last, he could stand it no longer, 
and seeing a bird flit by and alight a short distance 
from him, he fired and killed it, intending to slake his 
thirst with its blood. But the instant he fired, the 
prisoner snatched the bayonet from his belt, and made 
a plunge at him. Receiving a slight wound, he 
grasped the weapon at the point, and struggled for his 
life. 

It was at this critical moment that om' party came 
in sight ; nor had we an instant to lose. Shouting 
aloud, each one ran forward at full speed, but the 
combatants were too intently occupied to hear or heed 
us. 

The marine fought manfully, but it was of no avail ; 
for hj a quick movement of his active opponent, he 



PIRATES TAKE A PEISONEE. 229 

was whirled over, and fell violently to tlie ground. 
Half-stunned by the fall, he relaxed his hold, and his 
antagonist, brandishing the bayonet aloft, exclaimed : 

"D — n you, I'll let you know who's pirate now," 
and was about to pin him to the earth, when his arm 
was arrested by Midshipman Booth, who had outrun 
us. 

A similar detachment landed on Cayo Eomano, an 
extensive island, and gave chase to a body of pirates, 
who fled into the woods. In the ardor of pursuit. 
Mid. H. became separated from his companions, and 
falling into an ambuscade, was himself made prisoner. 
He was immediately bound and hurried onward far 
into the interior. For a long time, and with great 
rapidity, they pursued their devious course. After 
traversing a great distance, the profound stillness in- 
duced them to believe that the pursuit had ceased, or 
taken another direction. With a sense of security, 
their evil passions came in play, and muttered threats 
and ferocious glances at the prisoner, told that rob- 
bery and murder were uppermost in their thoughts. 

At last they came to a halt, and forming a circle, 
with the prisoner in the centre, held a consul- 
tation respecting him. Without a dissenting voice, 
his death was determined on ; but there was a discus- 
sion as to the mode. Shooting was not even proposed, 
for the report might betray them, and, moreover, they 
were determined that his death should be a prolonged 
and silent one. With a cruelty of purpose unsur- 
passed by the savages of our own frontier, they dis- 
cussed the various modes of torture. The advocates 



230 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

of the knife were for mutilation and incisions in the 
least vital parts, through which the current of life 
might be slowly drained. But the halter was deter- 
mined on ; and a suitable tree being selected, the 
prisoner, nearly stripped, was placed beneath a pro- 
jecting branch. A rope produced by one of the gang, 
was thrown over the limb, and a noose spliced in one 
end was adjusted round the neck of their victim. 
The other end was then hauled upon until he was 
nearly strangled, his weight barely supported upon 
the extremities of his feet, which alone touched the 
ground. 

With his hands lashed down and his mouth securely 
gagged, Mr. H.^ could neither resist nor call for help. 
When so exhausted that he could scarcely speak, his 
tormentors removed the bandage, and proceeded to 
question him. To all their interrogatories. respecting 
the force and probable stay of his companions upon 
the island, he refused to reply. Unmoved by their 
menaces, frequently rendered more expressive by the 
tightening of the cord, their promises of release could 
not shake the firm integrity of his soul. 

Hopeless of extracting any information from him, 
they were about to leave him to his fate, when, in the 
bitterness of his despair he cursed them, and bade 
them remember him when they fell into the hands of 
his friends, " for," he added, " they have found your 
boats, and you cannot escape." 

This intelligence alarmed them. They had, as they 
thought, securely concealed their boats, and expected 

* W. W. Hunter 



AIT ESTDOl^nTABLE SPIEIT. 231 

that after a few days their pursuers would quit the 
island, when they could make their escape to Cuba. 
Lowering the prisoner's feet to the ground, they sharply 
questioned him. But he gave so accm-ate a descrip- 
tion of the place of concealment, that they could no 
longer doubt. They then proposed to release him, 
provided he would pledge his word that the boats 
should not be desti^oyed or taken away. This he told 
them he could not do, for the officer who commanded 
the expedition was of a rank superior to his own. In 
vain they tried to persuade him that the officer would 
regard the pledge, when told it was the only m-ode by 
which his life was saved. He was inexorable; and 
again tightening the cord, with bitter imprecations 
they left him. 

"Upon the extremities of his swollen feet, with every 
joint strained to the utmost, he spent hours in 
excruciating agony. At dawn of day, however, his 
captors returned, and after a second fruitless attempt 
to intimidate or persuade, they released him, on the 
sole condition that he should bear a message to his 
commanding: officer. TliC messarre consisted of a 
declaration that they were simple fishermen, with the 
earnest prayer that as they ?iad not taken the life 
of one who had sought to destroy them, their boats, 
upon which they depended for subsistence, might be 
spared. 

As soon as capable of proceeding, 'Mr. H. was 
escorted back within a safe distance, and reached his 
companions, who were on the point of setting out, with 
the determination of scourincr tlie whole island in 



232 THE MIDSHTPMAK. 

searcli of him. As he was indebted for his life not to 
the mercy but to the fears of the ]3ii'ates, their prayer 
was disregarded. The day before the pursuit had 
been eager, but it was now vindictive, and like wild 
beasts, the wretches were chased along the cliffs, 
through the swamps, and within the deepest recesses 
of the forest. Some, more fortunate or more fleet, 
escaped, for the scarcity of provisions compelled our 
party to leave before they were all exterminated. 

While cruising off Cape Antonio, a circumstance 
occurred which shows the value of a keen percej)tion 
of character, combined Vvdth sound judgment and 
unswerving resolution. 

One of our detachments had landed in search of a 
piratical resort, and a short distance in the interior 
found a pulperia, a sort of country store, where liquor 
was the principal article sold. The commanding 
officer of the detachment was soon satisfied that the 
owner was w^hat he professed to be ; but, of the 
assumed character of a man in an adjoining quinta, he 
thought differently. The man was found employed in 
making cigars. Althorgh the owner of the pulperia 
called him his brother, and nearly every one else con- 
sidered the man guiltless and inoffensive, there was so 
much contradiction in his account of himself, that our 
commander sent him a prisoner to Havana. 

Of all the evil tendencies of our nature, the disposi- 
tion to cavil at authority is the most prevailing. The 
gibes and sneers at the expense of that officer became 
bitter and more frequent, when, on our arrival at 
Havana, in reply to inquiries respecting the pris- 



A STRATAGEM DETECTED. 233 

oner, we were told that " he had been hung in compli- 
ment to the Americans." By a friend, the officer was 
informed of the report, and the excitement it had 
created in the squadron. In deep anxiety, although 
conscious of haying acted for the best, he applied at 
once to the proper authorities for information. The 
official account proved him correct. 

The prisoner, still professing to be a cigar maker, 
obtained, with the material for their manufacture, 
permission to send them to a friend outside, to be sold 
for his support in prison. It happened, that as the 
first bundle was passed out, the officer of the guard 
who had stopped for a few moments in the gateway, 
asked for one. The bearer, without daring to refuse, 
betrayed, as the officer thought, so much reluctance, 
that he selected from the middle the very smallest 
and most indifferent one. Lighting it by the stump 
of his own, he found to his surprise, that it would not 
draw. Opening it at length to discover the cause, he 
found within, instead of tobacco, a written note. It 
was addressed to an accomplice, and gave an account 
of the dispersion of a noted gang, and the capture of 
the writer. It was on that note and by the confession 
of the wretch himself, that he was condemned and 
executed. 



CHAPTER XII. 

We were afterwards dispatched to sconr the whole 
of the northern coast of Cuba, with the adjacent keys 
and islets. Of the exposure and privation incident to 
the performance of this duty, no conception can be 
formed. Unsheltered from the fervent rays of a tropi- 
cal sun by day, or from the heavy dews of night, we 
toiled and slept alike exposed to their pestilential 
influence. 

Subsisting on a stinted allowance of water and of 
salted food, which increased the natural thirst, our lips 
were as much parched by inward heat, as our hands 
and faces were blistered by the scorching sun. The 
scarf skin peeled off, and we were alike tormented and 
disfigured by hideous pustules, gross to the eye, and 
peculiarly sensitive to the touch. The heat of the day 
compelled us to throw aside all but the lightest gar- 
ments, and the dampness of the night, with innume- 
rable swarms of insects, made us assume the thickest 
and most impenetrable ; but in vain — the closest 
texture and tlie thickest folds could not protect us from 



PEIVATION AJ>rD EXPOSUEE. 235 

the latter. The constant buzz and frequent sting of 
the mosquito harassed, while the sharp prick of the 
sand fly goaded us almost to madness. It is wonderful 
how we stood it ; and but for the high state of mental 
excitement, the most powerful constitution must have 
succumbed. Whether chasing a vessel far to seaward, 
or dragging our boats up some narrow creek, by the 
jutting roots or overhanging branches of the man- 
grove, or pushing them, as we waded, across a wide 
but shallow lagoon, the toil was unceasing, the expo- 
sure baneful, and the privation scarce endurable. 

Under the most depressing circumstances, the mind 
will at times recruit itself by some effort at diversion. 
One night, the boat to which I was attached, was 
separated from the fleet by a succession of heavy 
squalls. The next morning we found ourselves within 
a mile of a very suspicious-looking vessel, and nothing 
in sight to sustain us. The gallant Lieutenant who 
commanded us, resolved without hesitation to attack 
her. After a hurried preparation, therefore, we gave 
way for the sloop, the crew of w^hich, seemed through 
the haze, to keep their threatening long gun trained 
upon us. My station was in the bow, and knowing 
that our men were sufficiently courageous for even a 
more desperate encounter, but that almost everything 
depended on celerity, I threw off my boots, and calling 
to my commander who sat in the stern, proposed that 
the crew should cast aside their jackets and the 
clumsy shoes they wore. 

" It matters not what they wear, Sir, provided they 
are right A^re^," he replied, slapping his breast, as I 



236 THE MIDSHIPMAK. 

thought, with a gasconading air. Please God, thought 
I, if I live, I will strip you of your theatricals. 

Our suspicions proved to be unfounded, and the 
vessel was permitted to proceed without molestation. 

The second night after, an opportunity was pre- 
sented for retaliation, of which I gladly availed 
myself. We had rejoined the fleet, and were cruising 
along the coast of the main island in search of piratical 
establishments. About sunset, we came in sight of a 
place which looked so suspicious, that we were sent to 
examine it. As we neared the shore, we found our 
progress barred by a dangerous reef, and rowed some 
distance along the outer edge of the surf, without dis- 
covering the slightest vestige of a channel. The em- 
purpled cloud which had enveloped the descending 
sun, seemed to grow heavy as it assumed a leaden 
hue. As the air thickened, and the shore grew indis- 
tinct, the surf roared more audibly, and the foam, as it 
tumbled down the watery slope, cast a garish light 
upon the wild and beautiful scene. 

I had hold of the helm, steering the boat along just 
without the line of foam, and my commander was 
eagerly looking out for the channel, when I perceived 
directly abreast, a narrow space where the rush and 
the upward leap of the water was less tumultuous. 
Quick as thought, I slapped the helm down, and we 
dashed among the breakers. In an instant, amidst a 
deafening roar, we felt the boat borne upwards ; then, 
with its bows frightfully depressed, it rushed down a 
steep descent; was again arrested by a roller which 



APPROACillKG SICKNESS. 237 

bore it upward and backward, and then we were 
whirled forward w^ith incredible velocity. 

" My God, Sir ! what have you done ?" Then per- 
ceiving that we had passed in safety, he added, ''Why 
didn't you give warning, sir ?" 

'' I didn't think it necessary, sir, since I knew that 
all was right Tiere^'^ — laying my hand upon my breast 
as I spoke. The Lieutenant bit his lip, but said 
nothing. 

The consequences of exposure and great privation 
of food and rest began soon to be developed, and one 
by one the drooping eye and throbbing pulse warned 
us of approaching sickness. Placing our sick on board 
of the larger vessels, with the barges little better than 
half manned, we started for Key "West. 

A severe gale overtook us, and the oldest seaman 
fairly trembled as we rode upon the pinnacle or strug- 
gled in the trough of the raging sea. The wind and 
current were adverse, and instead of the prolonged and 
easy swell of the mid-ocean, the gulf whirled its waves 
about like some huge Briareus tossing his hundred 
arms in the wildest and most furious contortions. 
Sometimes riding down the sheer precipice of a broken 
wave, we seemed to each other, upon our bed of foam, 
as insignificant and far more helpless than the gulls 
which screamed around us. 

Our first and greatest dread was of collision. In the 
open sea we would have been tossed in the like direc- 
tion, and our relative distance would not have been 
materially lessened or increased. But here the waves 
were so tumultuous, at one time influenced by the 



238 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

wind, at anotlier controlled by the cnrrent, that some 
of the boats were soon scarce visible in the distance, 
while others were in the most dangerous proximity. 
So far from being enabled to spread a sail, the sweep- 
ing force of the wind compelled the men to sit in the 
bottom of the boats to steady them. Our own boat and 
another, seemed soon to come within the influence of 
attraction. In vain we tried the helm, in vain with an 
oar we attempted to give each a contrary direction. 
With dreadful accuracy, the eye discovered that the 
distan^ which separated us on the summit of a 
wave, was lessened at its base. Presently we were so 
near, that it was evident the next heave would bring us 
together. There was perfect silence in each boat, and 
the low tone of the officer as he bade the larboard oars 
to be got out, sounded as distinct as if uttered through 
the trumpet in the stillness of a midnight watch. It 
were in vain to deny that every cheek blanched as the 
next moment we found ourselves on the slope of a 
receding wave, rushing madly towards each other. At 
the instant of closing, their oars caught ander the bot- 
tom of our boat, and the succeeding wave swelling 
upward beneath us, we were careened gunnel under, 
the oars snapped like dry twigs, and a portion of their 
boats'-side fell in with a crash, — as pitched in contrary 
directions, we were swept far apart. It was evident 
that the destruction of both boats had only been pre- 
vented by the entanglement of the oars. 

With them the danger now assumed another aspect. 
Although the side of their boat had broken in above the 
surface of the sea, yet the crest of every wave broke 



A GALE IN AN OPEN BOAT. 239 

over it, and the water rushed in with alarming rapidity. 
Besides, the whole frame had been severely strained^ 
and the boat leaked fast. With the exception of the 
man at the helm, every one, officers and all, com- 
menced bailing with his hat. The leak alone, they 
conld have managed, but they no sooner congratulated 
themselves, that they had diminished the quantity of 
water, than some passing wave would mock them by 
casting in more than they had cast out. 

They toiled thus for hours, but so hopeless seemed 
their eiforts, that the crew, at last, refused to bail any 
longer. Again and again, the officer by turns com- 
manded and entreated. They were deaf alike to his 
threats and persuasions, and in dogged silence awaited 
the result. Provoked to desperation by their folly, he 
sprung forward and drawing the plug from the 
bottom of the boat, exclaimed, "If we must die then, 
the sooner the better.' 

By a strange anomaly in the hu:man character, the 
very certainty of that death, to which they were before 
resigned, caused a reaction in the feelings of the crew, 
and hastily replacing the plug, they began to bail again 
with renewed vigor. By constant labor and unremit- 
ting vigilance, through the mercy of an Overruling 
Providence, we weathered the storm and arrived safe, 
but exhausted, at our place of destination. 

Very soon after the congregation of our squadron at 
Key West, the yellow fever in its most virulent form, 
broke out among us. Our hastily erected and scantily 
furnished hospitals, were soon crowded with the sick, 
the dying and the newly dead. Frequently, the eyes 



24:0 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

of one about to enter, would turn in dismay from tlie 
sight of the body of some companion or friend, which 
blocked the doorway in its passage to the grave. 
Within the portal, turn his eyes wherever he would, 
and the most ghastly, or most disgusting sights awaited 
them. In vain he endeavored to close his ears against 
the deep-drawn sighs, the retching sounds and the 
maniac laugh of the wretched beings around him. He 
alone, who has laid on a rude pallet in the ward of a 
hospital, crowded with the victims of a malignant dis- 
ease, and beheld on one side the bloodshot eye, the 
flushed brow and the restless movements of fever at its 
height; and on the other, the torpid stillness, the pallid 
hue and fast glazing vision which tell that the fever 
has done its work, — he alone, can realize the horrors 
of such a state. 

Of that dreadful period, so painful to think of, it 
would be laceration to the feelings to attempt a recital. 
"Who can dwell upon the languishing ilhiess, the scant 
attendance, the parching thirst, the gurgling sounds of 
suffocation, the convulsive spasms and the death-rattle 
of mess-mates and friends ? For me, I cannot, — but, 
while I deplore their fate, most fervently do I cherish 
the remembrance of their worth. Men have died for 
an opinion and have been reputed martyrs. These 
brave men, who, by their gallantry in battle and their 
endurance of privation, gained the applause, may 
surely, in their untimely deaths, claim the sympathies 
of their country. 

From two circumstances, an idea may be formed of 
the dreadful mortality which thinned us. Of the crew 



LOSS OF THE FERRET. 24:1 

of one of tlie barges, consisting of seventeen men and 
two officers, there were, at the expiration of three 
weeks, but five survivors ! Of the whole body of offi- 
cers of the navy, one eighth perished in that sickly 
season ! May they, and their more humble but 
equally gallant comrades, rest in peace ! 

The next year we were employed in the same man- 
ner, and little occurred to vary the monotony of fatigue 
or to cheer the tedious hours of endurance. Of the 
events of this period, my journal presents nothing to 
transcribe except the loss of the schooner Ferret. 

She was sailing along the land, thirty or forty miles 
from Matanzas, when by a sudden flaw of wind, she was 
upset. A number of the crew entangled by the ropes 
and sails, or incapable of swimming, were immediately 
drowned. The remainder, with the officers, clambered 
to the upper rail, to which each one clung with the 
tenacity of endangered life. As soon as the sense of 
immediate peril was removed, they looked wistfully 
to seaward, and along the land in each direction, in 
the hope of rescue. 

Far to the west, distinct in the broad light of the de- 
scending sun, a felucca was again spreading sail which, 
wiser than the schooner, she had folded to the passing 
gust. She was too distant to distinguish either the 
wreck or the wretches who crawled upon it, and they 
possessed no means of attracting her attention. She 
was standing in for tke land, and as she receded from 
their sight, the least sanguine despaired and the boldest 
became despondent. 

Bat the fear of a protracted death was exchanged for 
11 



242 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

the horrid apprehension of one more immediate and 
dreadful. A young lad, once robust and cheerful, but 
now feeble and dispirited from a wasting sickness, un- 
able longer to retain his hold, rolled over into the sea. 
The black fins of sharks, before unseen, soon cleaved 
the surface in various directions, and suddenly disap- 
pearing, a crimson suffusion of the water told the next 
moment that the work of carnao:e had beo-un. Their 
appetites whetted with the taste of blood, as the light 
faded away, the dusky bodies of these ravenous fish 
could be distinguished gliding along the surface of the 
dark and slumbering ocean. Their boldness increas- 
ing with the advance of night, they circled nearer and 
nearer, and as the crew drew themselves up to the 
shortest span, they could distinctly hear their deep and 
ominous breathing. 

Notwithstanding the cheering exhortation^ of their 
gallant commander, one by one, throughout the night, 
the feeblest or the least courageous fell off. Towards 
midnight, a breeze sprung up, bringing with it a gentle 
swell. As riding with the undulation the w^reck at 
times sunk, with the receding swell, and became, for an 
instant, wholly immersed, the survivors could only by 
clamorous shouts deter the greedy monsters from rush- 
ing in upon them. 

Thus passed the night. With the light of day, the 
sharks became more wary in their approach, but were 
neither less numerous nor less vigilant. "With the first 
fitreak of light in the eastern board, almost unconscious 
of the foes near them, the weary men turned to watch, in 
deep anxiety, the progress of the slow rising sun. They 



A FORLOEN HOPE. 24:3 

watched in yain, for although several vessels were in 
sight, they were so far off, and were steering in such 
directions, as to preclude all hope of assistance from 
them. 

The commander now determined on a measure which 
he had reserved for the last extremity. The small skiff 
yet hung, or rather in the inverted position of the 
vessel, laid upon the stern davits. This boat, he de- 
termined to despatch to the shore, from whence, 
should she fortunately reach it, to obtain assistance. A 
lieutenant, a midshipman and two men, volunteered 
for the undertaking. The chances were, if any, in 
favor of remaining by the wreck. The keen wind was 
evidently freshening, and a boat considered almost too 
frail for the ripple of a river, could not be expected to 
ride in safety upon the fast increasing swell. But it 
was necessary that some should go, and as all would 
without hesitation have obeyed a command, the dis- 
tinction was justly claimed by those who had volun- 
teered. 

The skiff was prepared and manned, and pushing 
off from the wreck, was cheered on its mission by the 
faint huzzas and heartfelt " God-speed" of those who 
remained. In transcribing this part of my journal, my 
eyes overflow with the bare remembrance of past sen- 
sations. And I know that from the inmost depths 
of his soul, the gallant officer in charge of that boat, 
prayed that he might perish, rather than return un- 
successful. 

The skiff was so light, so frail, and so difficult of 
trim, that they were every moment in danger of upset- 



24:4: THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

ting. The swell rapidly increased, and as they sunk 
into the trough of the sea and shut out the horizon, 
the succeeding wave overshadowed, and its crest 
seemed to curl in anger above them. Thinly clad and 
wet to the skin, — moreover faint from want of food 
and rest, as they rode upon the tops of the waves, they 
suffered bitterly from the coldness of the wind. In 
the hollow of the sea they were sheltered one moment, 
only to suffer more keenly the next. The oars were of 
little service, except to steady them in the dreadful 
pitchings and careenings to which they were every 
instant subjected. Two managed the oars, one steered, 
and one incessantly bailed. There could be no transfer 
of labor, for it was death to attempt a change of 
position. 

Although the current set along the land, the wind 
and the heave of the sea drove them indirectly towards 
it. After six hours incessant fatigue, cold, cramped 
and wearied to exhaustion, they reached the near vici- 
nity of the shore, and running along it for a short dis- 
tance (in increased danger, for the boat was now 
broadside to the sea), they made the mouth of a small 
harbor, into which, their frames thrilling with grati- 
tude, they pulled with all their might. 

As the peace and the joys of heaven are to the 
wrangling and sorrows of this world, was the placid 
stillness of that sheltered nook to the fierce wind and 
troubled sea without. The transition was as sudden as 
it was delightful, and with uncovered head and up- 
turned gaze, each paid his tribute of thankfulness. 
They next thought of their companions. 



A pieate's laie. 245 

There was a small schooner at anchor, which looked 
as if she might be indiscriminately used for traffic or 
for piracy. There were several fishing boats hauled 
up on the beach, and a number of fishermen were em- 
ployed drying and mending their nets. A short dis- 
tance from the shore, about a dozen huts were scattered 
along the banks of a stream which emptied into the 
little 'bay. It was a place heretofore unknown, and 
they had every reason to apprehend it to be one of those 
haunts from whence the pirates issued so suddenly to 
commit their depredations. Conscious that in such an 
event, immediate death aw^aited them, if their true 
characters were known, they prepared their story and 
boldly landed on the beach. They were immediately 
surrounded by as sw^arthy and cut- throat a looking set 
as they had ever seen, who unceremoniously hurried 
them into a pulperia and began to question them. 

The first glance around the room into which they 
were ushered confirmed their worst suspicions. Besides 
kegs and bottles of various liquor and drinking glasses 
and segars, there w^ere fabrics of European manufacture 
and wearing apparel of every grade of society, from 
that of the ship boy to the fashionable lady, — hung on 
pegs or lying in tumbled heaps upon the shelves. 
There were bonnets and shawls and hats ; parasols and 
fans, boots, swords, pistols, handkerchiefs and watches. 
The plunder of many a vessel, the murder of many a 
fellow creature, had contributed to the variety of that 
assortment. 

The officer in command had directed the others 
to watch him, and if he gave a certain signal, they 



246 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

were to return tlie answers previously concerted. 
If he did not, thej^ were free to assume tlieir proj)er 
characters. Immediately on entering the room, the 
expected signal was given. 

At the shrewd suggestion of one of the gang, they 
were taken apart and questioned separately. Their 
accounts agreed exactly, in all except one essential par- 
ticular. In tlie assumed name and nation of the vessel 
to which they professed to belong ; in her destination, 
her rig, the number of her crew and the name of her 
commander, they all agreed : but they had forgotten to 
concert the number and description of her guns. One 
mounted her with carronades, another with long guns, 
and they were diiferently represented as few of large, 
or as many of smaller calibre. This discrepancy be- 
trayed them. 

The fury which gleamed from the eyes of these 
men when the true character of our countrymen was 
discovered, warned the latter to prepare for the worst. 
While the pirates earnestly talked apart, our little 
band silently re-assembled, and standing with their 
backs to the wall, determined to sell their lives as 
dearly as possible. 

The fear of detection had induced the latter to cut 
the buttons from their coats and remove every ves- 
tige of the uniform. But, when the pirates again 
approached them, their fell purpose but too visible in 
tlieir countenances, the brave Lieutenant boldly de- 
clared that they were part of the crew of an American 
vessel of war, and that if they dared molest his 
party they would be signally punished. He proceeded 



IMPRISONED BY PIK^TES. 247 

to tell them that the bearing and direction of their 
harbor was now known, and that we had an over- 
whelming force in Matanzas ready to pounce upon 
them on the slightest provocation. 

Had his tone been truculent and submissive ; had 
he attempted to sue or to treat for ransom, they 
would have been murdered on the spot. But his 
boldness startled, and his threats alarmed them. 
There was so much probability in what he said ; we 
had so frequently taken such signal vengeance upon 
their lawless bands, that while they thirsted for 
blood, a moment's reflection convinced them that they 
dared not shed it. But they determined on what was 
almost as bad. On the pretext that the officer and 
his crew were Colombian privateers-men, they impri- 
soned them in one of the huts, around which an 
efficient guard was stationed. It was dreadful to 
think that although their lives were perhaps eventu- 
ally secure, their friends were perishing while they 
could not make one further effort for their preserva- 
tion. In vain, from the windov/s, they offered the 
highest reward for a messenger to Matanzas. Seem- 
ingly or really they disbelieved their assertions and 
ridiculed their promises. In despair, they gave up 
the attempt, and sick at heart, hungry, thirsty, and ex- 
hausted, sunk upon the mud-floor of the cabin. 

They had not laid long, however, when they were 
aroused by the trampling of horses without. They 
eagerly looked out and beheld a Spaniard mounted 
on one horse and leading another, on which sat a young 
and rather handsome female. He was a merchant 



248 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

from the interior come to pm-chase from the spoilers. 
They were passing by the hut, before which a number 
of people were collected, and had stopped to inquire 
the reason. To him the commander addressed himself, 
and by every appeal to his interest and his feelings, 
endeavored to prevail upon him to bear a note to 
Matanzas. Bnt he too, as obdurate as those around, 
jeered and derided him. Their commander then 
turned to the woman, and in the most thrilling tones, 
and with gushing eloquence, portrayed the condi- 
tion of his shipmates on the wreck, and besought her 
as she loved her husband, her brother or her child, to 
pity and to save them. She was a woman, and thanks 
be to God ! she was a mother, too ! Her humid eye, 
her throbbing breast proclaimed his success. She wept, 
she entreated and she prevailed. Divine influence of 
woman ! never more needed, when, in the cause of 
humanity, was it ever denied ? 

Once interested, the woman, true to the impulse of 
her sex, pursued no half-way measures. Yielding to 
the entreaties of his wife, what he had before scornfully 
denied, the merchant not only agreed to dispatch a 
messenger, but also procured the liberation of the 
party, and by his direction a grateful repast of coffee, 
bread and fish, was spread before them. 

Eut the rreal Avas interrupted and their appetites 
failed, when it was reported that no one could be pro- 
cured either to proceed alone, or to act as guide to tha 
town. But what difliculty can surpass the ingenuity, 
or in the cause of love or charity, what sacrifice 
can be too great for the pure and gentle of the other 



A TRUE WOMAiq". 249 

sex ? The wife suggested, wliat never would liave oc- 
curred to her stupid husband, and which, when first 
mentioned, threw him into a perfect rage. Notwith- 
standing his violence, she waited patiently, until his 
oaths, and with them his passion was fairly spent, 
and then, with gentle voice and winning manner and 
all those fond endearments, which are alike the charms 
and the weapons of the sex, one by one, she overcame 
his scruples, and he consented to accompany our com- 
mander forthwith to the town. To do the brute jus- 
tice, the last and greatest difficulty was the thought of 
leaving his wife unprotected behind him. But, ardent 
in a good cause, she yielded to none of her sex's weak- 
ness. She said that she had ever heard that the Ame- 
ricans were brave, and placed herself under their protec- 
tion. They swore to die rather than a hair of her head 
should be injured. "With all the qualities of moral ex- 
cellence, the simple and unpretending virtues of that 
woman would adorn a throne on earth, as they will 
surely win for her a crown in heaven. 

The commander set out without a moment's delay, 
and left his companions behind as protectors of the 
wife, and as hostages for the safety and remuneration 
of the husband. He travelled all night along intricate 
by-roads and narrow mule-tracks overgrown with 
brushwood. Scarce able to keep his saddle, he urged 
his guide to the utmost speed. He reached Matanzas 
just before the dawn of day, and leaving his guide 
at the Consul's for the reward, he proceeded to the 
water, and procured a boat. Reaching the steam- 
brig, and clambering her side, he was just able to 
11^ 



250 THE MIDSHIPMAl^. 

saj " the Ferret has capsized to leeward, and they arc 
perishing on the wreck," when he fell fainting in the 
gangway. The brig was immediately got under way, 
and he recovered in time to steer her in the right 
direction. 

They rescued all who remained, but the number 
had been sadly thinned since the skiff was dispatched the 
day before. 

Sailors are strange mortals, and sometimes seem to 
love their jests better than their friends. The First 
Lieutenant of the schooner, a perfect skeleton in 
figure, was taken delirious from the wreck. As soon 
as he recovered his consciousness, but w^hile yet too 
w^eak to turn in his berth, a waggish brother officer 
said to him, '' M., I'm told that the sharks frequently 
smelt at your legs, but could find nothing to bite." 

Towards the last, the sharks had become so ravenous, 
that from time to time they seized the most exposed 
upon the wreck, who screamed in their agony as they 
were dragged beneath the surface. 

The noble commander of the Ferret was lamed for 
life ; the First Lieutenant, the spirit of bravery and 
the soul of truth, lingered in consequence for many 
years, on the verge of the grave. '^ 

^ It is proper to say that the officer dispatched on this perilous ser- 
vice, and to whose decision, intrepidity, and moving appeal, the survi- 
vors of the wreck were indebted for their lives, was Lieutenant, now 
Connmander James Glynn, of the Navy. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

RETURNEsra to the United States after two years' 
service in ttie West Indies, the vessel was laid up for 
repairs, the men were discharged, and the officers 
detached. 

From my journal during this period, I transcribe a 
description of a Condor-Hunt on the plains of Chili, 
by a near and dear friend, who has passed to his 
reward. 

THE CONDOS-HUNT. 

In each division of the American Continent, nature- 
seems to have carried on her operations with bound- 
less magnificence, and upon a gigantic scale. Cha- 
teaubriand, reclining by his watchfire on the banks 
of the Niagara, where the thunders of its cataract were 
only interrupted by the startling yell of the Iroquois, 
could yet feel^ in the midst of tumult, the amazing 
silence and solitude of the North American forest. 
And the hardy mariner, whose bark has escaped the 
perils of the Southern sea, and is wafted along the 
western coast of Chili, looks with no less admiration 
""-non the fertile plains gradually receding into the 



252 



THE MIDSHIPMAlSr. 



swell of the Andes, which literally lifts its smoking 
craters and towering eminences above the clouds, and 
upon its snow-capped and sunny summits, scarcely 
feels the undulations of the storm^s which gather and 
burst around its waist. 

With the stars and stripes of the Union floating 
from the mast-head of our frigate, w^e were sailing 
along that part of the coast of Chili, where the waving 
line of the Andes rounds wdthin a short distance of 
the Pacific, and w^ere unusually solicitous, after the 
perils and privations' of a tempestuous sea-voyage, to 
tread upon a soil on which nature, from her horn of 
abundance, has poured forth the choicest of her gifts. 

Older sailors than ourselves had spoken of the 
generous hospitality of the Spanish colonists, and 
there were historical associations connected with this 
favored land, w^ell calculated to render a visit agree- 
able. Who that has been nurtured in the lap of free- 
dom, would not long to look upon the only race of 
native people on the western continent who had never 
been subdued, and who, to this day, tread the soil of 
their forefathers unvanquished and invincible ? 

The Araucanians, v/ho inhabit the southern portion 
of this delightful country, like the Saxons of the Euro- 
pean continent, are the only native race who have 
successfully rej)elled every invader, and who, happier 
than the Saxon, still rejoice in their unbridled freedom. 

JSTeither Diego Almagro, with his brutal treachery, 
nor Yalverde with his unsj)aring cruelty, could ever 
subdue or intimidate a race of freemen whose liberties 
still survive the frequent convulsions by which they 



THE COISTDOR-HUNT. 253 

have been agitated. The flame of freedom among this 
gallant people, like the volcanoes of their native 
mountains, seems destined to burn on for ever unex- 
tinguished. But I proposed to speak of the Condor- 
Hunt on the plains of Chili. 

Every one has heard of the Condor or Great Vulture 
of the Andes, rivalling in natural history, the fabled 
feats of the Roc of Sinbad. Even the genius of Hum- 
boldt has failed to strip this giant bird of its time- 
honored renown, and his effort to reduce the Chilian 
Condor to the level of the Lammergyer of the Alps, is 
a signal failure. 

Although he has divested this mountain bird of all 
its fictitious attributes, and stripped a goodly portion 
of romantic narrative of its wildest imagery, yet the 
Condor still floats in the solitude of the higher hea- 
vens, the monarch of the feathered race. The favorite 
abiding place of this formidable bird is along a chain 
of mountains in our southern continent, whose sum- 
mits, lifted far abov^e the clouds, are robed in snow, 
which a torrid sun may kiss but never melt. Above 
all animal life, and beyond the limit of even mountain 
vegetation, these birds delight to dwell, inhaling an air 
too highly attenuated to be endured by other than 
creatures peculiarly adapted to it. From the crown 
of these immense elevations, they slowly and lazily 
unfold their sweeping pinions, and wheeling in wide 
and ascending circles, they soar upward into the 
dark blue vault of heaven, until their great bulk 
diminishes to the merest speck, or is entirely lost to 
the aching sight of the observer. 



254: THE MIDSHIPMAJSr. 

" All day thy wings have fanned, 
At that far height, the cold, thin, atmosphere, 
Yet stoop not, weary, to the welcontie land, 
Though the dark night is near. 
There is a Power whose care 
Teaches thy way along that pathless coast — 
The desert and illinaitable air — 
Lone wandering — but not lost. 
Thou art gone — the abyss of heaven 
Hath swallowed up thy forna.'^ 

In those pure fields of ether, unvisited even by the 
thunder cloud, regions which may be regarded as his 
own exclusive domain, the Condor delights to sail, and 
with piercing glance survey the surface of the earth, 
toward which he never stoops but at the call of 
hunger. Surely this power to waft and to sustain 
himself in the loftiest regions of the air — ^the ability to 
endm^e uninjured, the exceeding cold attendant upon 
such remoteness from the earth, and to breathe with 
ease in an atmosphere of such extreme rarity — together 
with the keenness of sight that, from such vast heights 
can minutely scan the objects beneath, as well as the 
formidable powers of this bird, when the herds are 
scattered before him ; were sufficiently admirable to 
entitle the Condor to our attention, and to give us pro- 
mise of goodly sport in the approaching Condor or 
Lasso-Hunt. 

A large landed proprietor, a descendant of one of 
the early Spanish patentees, to whom we had been 
indebted for abundant supplies of fruit and' provisions, 
as w^ell as for numberless civilities, convoyed to us at 
length the welcome tidings that the Condor, numerous 



THE COKDOR-HUNT. 255 

as the sands of the shore, had stooped from his sub- 
lime domain, to the base of the momitain, and that the 
hunt would commence in the morning. 

The sun had scarcely risen in the heavens, when our 
party of from twenty-five to thirty, sprang from 
the boats to the beach. The plain before us ran in a 
gently ascending slope to the base of the hill about 
one mile distant. The hunt was up — and the field in 
the distance was dotted with scampering herds of 
cattle and groups of horsemen, mingled in one dusty 
melee, the sight of which lent wings to our speed, 
as vaulting into the deep Spanish saddles, prepared 
by our worthy host, we sprang onward to the field of 
blood. Impelled by the cravings of resistless appe- 
tite, the Condor, regardless of danger, pressed forward 
to assail the herds of the plain ; while the watchmen, 
having sounded the alarm, the numerous population 
turned out, as well to protect their cattle, as to hunt 
the mountain-bird — the Chilian's manly pastime. 

From the midst of a canopy of dust, spread wide 
over the plain, there came forth sounds of noisy con- 
flict, resembling the heady current of a '' foughten 
field ;" and mountain and hill-side were shaken by the 
shouts of the hunters, the tramp of scampering horse- 
men, and the bellowing of enraged and affrighted 
cattle. The Condor, alone, rapid as the cassowary of 
the desert, pursued in silence his destined prey. As 
we rapidly approached, we perceived one of the herd 
bursting from the western extremity of the cloud of 
dust, lashing his bleeding side with his tail, and his 
blood-shotten eyes starting wildly from their sockets, 



256 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

while foaming at the mouth, he bellowed loudly with 
pain. "With a wonderful unity of purpose, he alone 
w^as closely pm-sued by the whole flock of birds, who, 
disregarding the other animals, seemed to follow, as 
with a single will, this stricken one, who was at the 
same time cautiously avoided by his terrified com- 
panions. Like all gregarious birds, the Condor ap- 
peared to have a leader, who, rushing at their head, 
into the midst of the herd, pounced with his greedy 
beak upon this devoted animal, the fattest and the 
sleekest of the multitude, and tore a piece of flesh 
from his side. Attracted by the sight or the scent of 
blood, the whole flock, like a brood of harpies, joined 
in the mad pursuit. Swift of foot as the fleetest 
racer, they kept close to his side, ever and anon, 
striking with unerring sagacity at his eyes. 

Tell me not of the gladiators of martial Rome, or of 
the Tauridors of modern Seville — they were pastimes 
for children, compared with the thrilling excitement 
of the Condor-Hunt. Away they fled, and away we 
hurried in the chase. A thousand horsemen were 
wheeling rapidly in pursuit — a thousand cattle, terri- 
fied and frantic, swept over the plain — and a thousand 
Condors mingled in the crowd — until, by the rapid 
movement, herd and Condor were again hidden from 
the view in clouds of dust. A loud shout soon after 
attracted us to the scene of confiict. Bursting fortli 
once again from the cloud of dust into which he had 
vainly rushed, the devoted animal plunged madly 
forward, yet more closely followed by the whole field 
of vultures. Black with dust, and streaming with 



THE COm)OR-HIJNT. 257 

blood from a hundred wounds inflicted by the remorse- 
less beaks of his pursuers, he still fled onward, but 
with diminished speed. As if looking to man for 
assistance in his extremity, he rushed through the 
midst of our cavalcade, and the Condor, regardless of 
our presence, hung upon his side, or followed in his 
footprints. 

From the altered movement of the animal after he 
had passed us, with his head on high, plunging and 
blundering over the uneven ground, it was evident 
that his course was no longer directed by sight. His 
eyes were gone — they had been torn from their bleed- 
ing sockets ! 

Wearied and panting, his tongue hangs from his 
mouth, and every thirsty beak is upon it. Still on- 
ward he flies, hopeful of escape — and onward presses 
the Condor, secure of his prey. The animal now 
appeared to be dashing for the water, but his declining 
speed and unequal step rendered it doubtful whether 
he could reach it. He seemed suddenly to despair of 
doing so, for wheeling round with one last and despe- 
rate effort, he gathered himself up in the fulness of his 
remaining strength, and rushed into the midst of the 
herd, as if he sought by mingling in the living mass, 
to divert the attention of his pursuers. But the mark 
and the scent of blood was upon him, and on the track 
of blood the Condor is untiring and relentless. Beast 
and bird once again were lost to view, beneath the 
curtain of dust which overspread the trembling plain. 
But, in a few moments, pursued by every bird, he 
broke from the midst of the herd, and made a few 



258 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

desperate plunges towards the water, and reeling on- 
wards, fell at length bleeding and exhausted, on the 
very margin of the sea ! % 

Sternitur exanimisque tremens procumbit humis bos. 

In an instant he was buried up among his pursuers, 
his flesh torn off, yet quivering, by hungry beaks, and 
his smoking entrails trailed upon the ground. In the 
distance, on the verge of the horizon, the last of the 
herd might still be discerned, flying upon the wings 
of the wind from the fate of their companion. 

Our host gave the signal, and we hurried to the spot 
to rescue the carcass, with a view to visit upon the 
Condor vengeance for the mischief he had done, and 
the blood he had spilled. At our near approach, they 
took reluctantly and lazily to wing, and wheeling in 
oblique circles, they were soon seen floating over the 
crest of the mountain, dark specks in the firmament. 
The hunters, prepared with stakes about seven feet in 
length, commenced driving them in the ground, a few 
inches apart, and in a circular form around the carcass, 
leaving a small space open. As soon as we retii^ed 
from the spot, the birds descended upon the plain, 
and entering the enclosure, renewed their feast, and 
again took wing. In the course of a few hours, the 
huntsmen returned, and throwing into the pen an 
additional supply of food, drove down other stakes in 
the open space, leaving just suflicient room for the 
admission of the Condor. 

The birds, more numerous than ever, returned to 
their filtliy banquet. 



THE COKDOR-IIUNTo 259 

Meanwhile, having refreshed our horses, and par- 
taken of the hospitality of our worthy host, we once 
more took the field for vengeance on the gorged and 
lazy foe. As the wings of these birds have a sweep 
of seventeen feet, they are not readily unfurled, so 
that when the Condor has alighted on the plain, he is 
only enabled to rise by running over a space of fifteen 
or twenty rods, and gradually gathering wind to lift 
himself on high. While in the midst of their raven- 
ous feast, a few of the hunters warily approached and 
closed the opening; and thus, unable to soar aloft from 
a spot so confined and crowded, the Condors •were 
captive. But a Chilian scorns thus to slay a foe. 
Armed with a lasso, each of the natives sits upon his 
horse, eagerly awaiting the turning loose of half a 
dozen birds from the enclosure. 

They are out — and away scamper the Condor, fleet 
as the winds of heaven — and away, in rapid pursuit, 
wheels the mounted Chilian, swinging around his 
head the noose of the unerring lasso, which, falling 
upon the neck of the bird, makes him captive. The 
line is played out, and away sweeps the powerful 
bird, and away the practised horseman after him. 
Springing upward, the Condor now unfolds his wings 
and flutters in such width of circle as the rope will 
permit — and novv^ shoots perpendicularly upward — and 
now falls headlong, and is trailed exhausted on the 
ground. 

The lengthened shadows of evening had fallen along 
the plain before the sport was up, and the last Condor 
was captured. We returned to our ship, well pleased 



260 THE MTDSHIPMAlSr. 

with the entertainment, and swinging into our ham- 
mocks sunk into deep slumber, for which the exercise 
of the day had prepared us — ^but our sleep was not too 
sound for refreshing visitations from friends far 
away, 

<* O'er the glad waters of the dark blue sea.'' 
^ ^ ^ 

Long before the expiration of my leave of absence, 
I was an applicant for service, and my application was 
successful. 

I was detailed for the Hornet, the symmetrical 
Hornet, endeared by the achievement of two glorious 
victories. 

We fitted out at Norfolk ; and before we were 
ready for sea, one of our eldest midshipmen was taken 
seriously ill. At length, his life was despaired of, but 
he lingered long a perfect maniac. He had no friends 
— his rude manners and his dissipated habits having 
long estranged his messmates. His paroxysms were 
60 frequent and violent, that he required unceasing 
and vigilant watching. He had no nurse — those in the 
town usually employed as such, absolutely refusing to 
take charge of him. He was, therefore, solely depend- 
ent on the humanity of others. 

Hearing one afternoon how much he was neglected, 
and that while alone, he had seriously injured himself, 
I volunteered to sit up with him that night. I knew not 
the hazard I encountered, and those who were better 
informed, were too interested to enlighten me. 

At inteiwals, varying from half an hour to an hour 



THE MANIAC. 261 

and a half, his paroxysms occurred during the night ; 
sometimes assuming a frightful, at others, a ludi- 
crous aspect. At one time he jumped from his bed, 
and while his Herculean frame seemed to recover its 
full strength, he glared upon me ferociously, declaring 
that I had a design upon his life, and swore, with a 
dreadful imprecation, that he would tear me limb 
from limb, and with my blood slake the thirst which was 
consuming him. Like a tiger beset in his lair, he 
crouched as he spoke, and, foaming at the mouth, 
w^as about to spring upon me. lu his infuriate con- 
dition, I should have been as an infant in his hands. 
There was no avenue of escape, for the windows were 
secured, and I had myself locked the door, and placed 
the key on the mantel which was behind him. I felt, 
however, that if I flinched, I should be irretrievably 
lost. Advancing towards him, therefore, I looked him 
sternly in the face, and while my heart fairly throb- 
bed, assumed a bold and threatening tone, and bade 
him return instantly to his bed, or I would beat him 
severely. At first, he returned my glance with one 
so fierce and vindictive, that I involuntarily shrunk, 
but with an effort, I succeeded in keeping my gaze 
riveted upon him. His glances afterwards became 
more fiu-tive and less ferocious, until, by degrees, he 
succumbed, and cowering at my feet, entreated in the 
most abject manner, that I would not strike him. 

Such scenes occurred repeatedly during the night ; 
each as perilous as the first ; and nothing but pure 
shame prevented me from calling for help, or from 
leaving him as soon as the first paroxysm was over. 



262 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

The light of day was never more grateful to the 
benighted wanderer, than it was to me closeted with a 
madman, in the midst of a populous neighborhood. 
The rising sun put an end to my watching, and before 
it set, he was relieved from his sufferings. He died in 
convulsions. 

As soon as I returned to the ship, I threw myself on 
a locker, and slept profoundly. I awoke some time 
after the dinner hour was past, and hastened to write a 
letter, which, being on a matter of some importance to 
me, I was anxious to forward by that evening's mail. 
I had scarce commenced, when one of my messmates 
sportively threw some water upon the paper. Begging 
him to stop, I began another, which was treated in the 
same manner, and a third and a fourth, notwithstand- 
ing my earnest entreaties, shared the same fate. 
Provoked at length, I told my persecutor, that the 
new vest he had on, could not be as valuable in his 
eyes as the necessity of writing was imperative on me, 
and that if he repeated the provocation, I would soil 
his garment with the ink which was before me. He 
did repeat it, and true to my word, I threw the con- 
tents of my inkstand upon him. He now became 
enraged, and applied to me an opprobrious epithet. 
Before I could close upon him, our messmates inter- 
fered, and we were studiously kept apart. 

A duel is a dreadful thing ! Not in the risk of life, 
which, suspended by a single thread of destiny, is, in 
ten thousand ways, liable to be hourly severed. ISTot 
in the infraction of the laws of man — for man may 
interdict what morals do not condemn. But in the 



A CHAXLE2irGE. 263 

rash, presumption, the daring impiety, with which a 
frail and erring creatm^e crowns his sinful career by 
an act of defiance, and polluted with the desire of 
shedding — perhaps reeking with the blood of a fellow- 
creature, rushes uncalled, into the presence of its 
dread Creator. 

We are the creatures of circumstance — gross or 
refined, vicious or comparatively pure, according to 
the sphere in which we move, and the characters 
with whom we associate. The vestal, whose greatest 
sin has been a gesture of impatience or a sigh of dis- 
content, exposed to the same temptations, might have 
been as loathsome in her degradation as the inmate 
of the brothel. The convicted felon, w^ho, with bitter 
imprecations on his lip, is swung from the ignominious 
scaffold, may have been a youth of promise, whose 
nightly prayer and morning aspiration breathed gra- 
titude to his God, and whose every act was once 
directed to the welfare of his fellow men. 

"We are the creatures of circumstance because we 
are weak : we foolishly embrace error, rather than be 
ridiculed for singularity. 

I had suflScient virtue to abhor, but not firmness 
enough to resist the mandates of the code of honor. 
Had I not been prevented when the insult was given, 
I would not have left the presence of my adversary, 
until I had either thrashed him or been severely 
thrashed myself. As it was, I considered that I had 
no alternative; I therefore challenged Mr. H., and we 
were to meet the next morning. 

Contained within the scanty limits of a steerage 



264: THE MIDSHIPMAlSr. 

locker, my personal effects were necessarily few. Real 
estate I had none to bequeath, and my personal pro- 
perty would not pay the expenses of interment. 

A friend, who stood by me in this emergency, as he 
had done in many others, undertook to liquidate the 
debts I owed, for which, fortunately, I had suflBcient 
due to me from the Pm^ser. In the event of my fall, 
for anj deficiency in the funeral expenses, I trusted to 
the generosity of my country, even while I was about 
to violate one of its most positive enactments. 

I did not sleep well that night ; and yet, I cannot 
remember, nor does my journal present one expression 
from which to infer that death, as death^ had any 
terrors. It was not the parting, but the manner of it, 
from which my mind, deeply imbued with the 
precepts of a pious mother, involuntarily shrunk. I 
felt, and it is recorded on the pages before me, 
that I would have cheerfully exchanged the chances 
of escape, for certain death in the cause of patriotism 
or humanity. 

It were useless to transcribe the conflicting sensations 
which are recorded on the pages of my journal. 
"With an abiding conviction of the probable conse- 
quences, my mind, never for an instant, faltered from 
its purpose. The feeling was nearer akin to remorse 
for errors past, than a hesitation between good and 
evil. In other words, " I knew the right, and would 
the wrong pursue." 

Towards morning, I sunk into a heavy sleep, from 
which I awoke late and unrefreshed. My friend 
hurried me through breakfast, that I might practise a 



THE madman's grave. 265 

little with the pistol, to which I was unaccustomed, 
while my adversary was considered an excellent shot. 
He had procured for me the weapon with which 
Decatur, mortally wounded himself, had so nearly 
killed his antagonist. 

It looked so much like deliberately seeking another's 
life, that I refused to practise, until satisfied that the 
odds were so much against me, no efforts of mine 
could materially diminish them. I went into the 
adjoining woods, and tried three shots, either of which 
would have proved fatal had I been confronted by an 
opponent. 

Keturning to the town, we met the funeral on its 
way, and joined the procession. At the bu ial ser- 
vice, by some accident, or as it appeared to me at the 
time, by some fatality, I found myself standing at the 
foot of the grave, one hand holding my cloak to con- 
ceal the pistol which was held in the other. To my 
distempered imagination, the tenant of the grave 
appeared to burst his cerements. The madman, now 
infuriate in his wrath, now distorted with grimaces, 
seemed, while he scowled and chattered, to regard me 
as a greater madman than himself. It appeared, in- 
deed, as if Providence in merciful warning permitted 
me to stand upon the brink of the sheer precipice, and 
to look far down the yawning gulf into which I was 
about to precipitate another, or myself. 

Pride, and an undue regard to the opinions of 

others, proved too powerful to be overcome ; but I 

made this compromise with conscience, I resolved 

that stand or fall, I would not aim at the life of my 

12 



266 THE MIDSHIPMAI^. 

adversary. Frail changelings that we are ! What 
frivolous pretexts, how slight provocations are suffi- 
cient to turn us from our purpose — particularly, when 
that purpose, good in itself, is assailed by the 
passions ! 

The morning had been cool, but in the afternoon it 
became warm ; and near the appointed time, I walked 
out of town towards the place of rendezvous, with the 
weapon and ammunition as studiously concealed be- 
neath the oppressive folds of my cloak, as if they had 
been feloniously obtained. My friend was unavoid- 
ably detained, and I started alone, fearful of being 
too late. He overtook me just before I reached the 
ground. The other party was there before us. The 
word and distance v/ere soon arranged, and the 
ground measured. My pistol was objected to by the 
opposite party, and one of a pair was substituted, 
cumbrous as a horseman's, and so large in the bore, 
that it was necessary to wrap an ounce ball in buck- 
skin to fit it. It seemed as if we were about to fight 
with small artillery. "With the purpose I had formed, 
it was immaterial to me what weapon was placed in 
my hand, but I was rather nettled that with the 
advantage of superior skill on his side, my antagonist 
should evince so little magnanimity. Still, when I 
took my stand, my purpose was unaltered, to receive 
his fire, and in a manner not to be suspected, throw 
away my own. 

While with relaxed grasp, I held my weapon by my 
side, my mind was wandering far from the scene, and 
I was listening as in early boyhood, to the beautiful 



THE DUEL. 267 

but neglected precepts of my mother, when the words 
" Fire ! One !" startled me. 

Looking instantly up, I caught the eye of my anta- 
gonist. The expression was not to be mistaken. With 
eager avidity to take my life, was mingled great anx- 
iety for the preservation of his own. I could not resist 
the feeling which impelled me, and as his bullet whizzed 
by my ear, and before the last word " three" was ut- 
tered, I had fired with an aim as malignant as his own. 

As the reports reverberated around us, I looked 
eagerly forward, expecting to see my adversary fall. 
Half encircled by a spiral wreath of smoke, to my 
mortification (yes, to my present shame I transcribe 
it), to my mortification he stood unscathed before me. 
Had I retained the pistol which I carried to the field, 
his death would have been inevitable. The aim was 
unerring, for it was vindictive, and the hand is ever 
faithful to the eye. The fault was in the weapon. As 
it was, both shots were ineffectual, and before we were 
prepared for a second, my antagonist tendered such an 
apology, that the matter was adjusted. 

I have transcribed this, not for the incident itself, 
which is a trifling one, but to give some idea of the 
thoughts and tone of feeling elicited by the occasion. 
I do not know how others may feel on such occasions, 
but I deem it due to candor to say, that even while 
appearing courageous, I would not have been there if 
I could have helped it — if I had not dreaded more the 
sneer of ridicule than the reproaches of my own con- 
science, and regarded more the estimation of men than 



268 THE MIDSHIPMAIsr. 

the approbation of my Maker. It led, however, to one 
good result, of which more hereafter. 

Susceptible to kindness, I was grateful for the 
slightest offices of friendship. The professions and, 
attentions of the landlord whose inn I frequented, had 
made a deep impression on me, and my heart in its 
loneliness, treasured the remembrance of his kind 
expressions. That impression was effaced and the 
remembrance embittered, when, on my return, I found 
that my bill had been made out in anticipation of my 
fall. That simple circumstance pained me more than 
I can express, and while it taught me the hollowness 
of one species of profession, rendered me for awhile, 
suspicious of all. 

Ten days after, we dropped down to Hampton 
Roads, and awaited our orders for sea. The night 
before their expected arrival, I was left in charge of 
the deck. In the same watch with me was an inter- 
esting youth, who had recently been appointed a 
midshipman. In making some report to me, I ob- 
served that his cap was drawn so closely over his face, 
as nearly to conceal it. Suspecting that something 
was the matter, for he was anything but disrespectful, 
I watched him closely. He had retired to the taffrail, 
and leaning his head upon his hand, remained for a 
long time immovable. I approached and inquired if 
he were ill. As he raised his head to reply, I per- 
ceived that his eyes were filled with tears. 

After a short time, I learned the cause of his distress. 
His home was distant but one day's journey, where 
his father was lying dangerously ill, and the Captain 



HARRY ISnELSON. 269 

had refused permission to visit him. Encom'aged by 
my sympathy, and the pledge I gave not to betray 
him, he fmlher told me he had engaged a shore-boat, 
in which, at a late hour of the night, he was deter- 
mined to make his escape and abandon the service 
rather than not see his father. Persuaded that the 
Captain could not have understood the circumstances, 
I entreated him to abandon his purpose, and offered 
my services to procure the leave he desired. He pro- 
mised to wait until three in the morning. 

As it was yet early, I left the deck in charge of the 
next senior midshipman of the watch, and proceeded 
to the state room of one of the Lieutenants, in whose 
good nature and good sense, I had equal and perfect 
reliance. I related the circumstance to him, and as I 
expected, he became interested, and repaired imme- 
diately to the cabin. He returned successful, and 
young Nelson took leave of me that night with a 
grateful pressure of the hand, and a fervent " God 
bless you !" 

After his return, with a moistened eye, he gave me 
an account of his journey. 

A second marriage, that frequent bane of domestic 
peace, and its fruit, a second family of children, and its 
usual consequences, partiality on the one side, and in- 
justice on the other — ^had driven ITelson from the shelter 
of his father's roof, and at his early age, with a feeble 
constitution, and an education incomplete, had thrown 
him into the navy for a livelihood. 

A little before sunset of the same day on which 
Nelson left us, he was put on shore about a mile from 



270 THE MmSHlPMAH. 

his father's residence. With a heavy heart, the poor 
boy trudged slowly along, in order not to reach the 
plantations much before nightfall. Concealing him- 
self behind the fence, he waited until he saw the plough- 
men retire from the field, and heard the last tinkle of 
the bell as the kine gathered to the nightly fold. 
Skirting the edge of the field, he then made for the 
negro quarter, and unobserved, entered the hut of Old 
Charlotte, the former nurse and favorite servant of his 
mother. 

" Oh, Master Harry !" exclaimed the old woman, 
" thank gracious for the sight of you," but added in a 
sadder tone, " Old Massa is mighty sick, but he don't 
know it ! — ^poor massa, he don't know it !" 

" I must see him to-night, Charlotte, for to-morrow 
morning I am obliged to return." 

'' It can't be, Massa Harry !" — and she proceeded to 
tell him how fretted his father had become by a long 
and wasting illness. She told him, too, that his step- 
mother debarred from his father's presence all but her 
immediate dependents and herself. 

Although with the other domestics of his mother's 
time, the old nurse was excluded from the Great 
House (as the family residence was termed), yet at the 
earnest solicitation of her young master, she promised 
to contrive an interview between him and his sister. 
Tearing a slip containing the words " My only bro- 
ther," from his sister's last letter, Nelson sent it to her 
inserted in a time-worn pocket comb, which he knew that 
she would immediately recognize, should the nurse not 
have an opportunity of speaking to her. He then 



HAERY NELSON. 271 

concealed himself in the loft, while the old woman 
hobbled forth on her errand. 

In a short time, he heard the quick pattering of 
footsteps along the path, and immediately after, the 
door was pushed open, and he was anxiously called. 
The next moment, he clasped his panting sister to his 
breast ; and locked in each other's arms, these forlorn 
children wept as each clung to the other frantic 
with joy. 

Seated side by side, on a low bench, Nelson listened 
with suppressed emotion while his sister told of the 
petty vexations and ignominious trials to which she 
was subjected. At times, when she related some 
overbearing act of that stepmother's unfeeling son, 
forgetful of the delicate hand he held within his own, 
he grasped it until she nearly screamed, while he 
vowed vengeance on her persecutor. 

His sister told him, too, how much their father had 
been neglected in his illness ; how he was left entirely 
to the care of servants, who were the creatures of their 
stepmother, and how she nightly stole to his chamber 
and watched him while he slept, or tended him in his 
delirium, until frightened away by approaching foot- 
steps. She promised her brother to admit him into 
the house when all were asleep, and if possible to 
conduct him to the sick chamber. After a short inter- 
view they parted, the girl apprehensive of her absence 
being noticed. 

A little after midnight, Nelson approached the rear 
of the house under cover of the outbuildings, and 
gaining the porch, stood before the door, where his 



272 THE MIDSHIPMA]?^. 

mottier during life, was wont to sit, while his sister 
and himself gambolled before her. 

While he stood here, anxions for the present, and 
far from unmindful of the past, he was alarmed by the 
deep bay of the old house dog. The porch was sup- 
ported on piles, and beneath it the dog had been 
sleeping. As he came forth growling, Nelson's heart 
sunk within him, for detection appeared inevitable. 
But one hope remained. He turned to the dog, and 
in a low tone called him by name. Hector was no 
ingrate, and at the sound of that familiar voice, he 
leaped upon his young master, and nearly overwhelraed 
him with caresses. Here was another cause for appre- 
hension. The dog in his joy, whined so loudly, that 
there was great danger of the family being aroused. 
The apprehension was realized, and through the sash 
over the door, Nelson saw that a light was approach- 
ing. He had barely time to conceal himself beneath 
the porch, when the door was unbarred, and the step- 
brother, of whose persecutions his sister had com- 
plained, came forth with a heavy stick in his hand. 
He gave the dog a blow, and bade him begone. 
Hector ran and laid himself beside his master. The 
young man followed, and reaching under, beat him 
severely. The dog snarling, while he crouched more 
closely, refused to stir. Nelson, concealed by the 
shadow in which he laid, could not move for the 
dog. At last, the poor animal provoked beyond en- 
dm'ance, sprung out to seize his tormentor, but a 
heavy blow, which seemed to crush his skull, felled 
him to the earth. Spurning the body with his foot, 



THE SICK CHAMBEB. 273 

tlie young man re-entered the lionse, uttering a bitter 
execration. Nelson, who had only been able to 
restrain himself by the recollection of how much was 
at stake, now approached the dog. The poor animal 
was in his last agony — but yet, 

" He knew his lord ; he knew and strove to meet ; 
In vain he strove to crawl and kiss his feet ; 
Yet (all he could) , his tail, his ears, his eyes, 
Salute his naaster — He quivers and he dies.'' 

Nelson waited a long time, and began to be seriously 
apprehensive that his sister was prevented from keep- 
ing her appointment. At last, she gently unbarred 
the door, and reaching her handj drew him in, and 
softly closed it after him. 

Hand in hand, the rightful heirs of that house, 
trembling with the fear of detection, groped their way 
through the dark hall and up the creaking stairway. 
Whispering him to wait at the head of the stairs, the 
girl left her brother for a few minutes. Taking him 
again by the hand on her return, she led him to a door 
on the left, beneath which could be seen the glimmer 
of a light. With cautious dexterity, she then opened 
the door of the sick chamber. 

The light on the table, rising and sinking in fitful 
flashes, was nearly extinguished. The untended brands 
had fallen upon the hearth, and their father, in an 
uneasy attitude on the bed, scarce perceptibly 
breathed ; while seated in an arm-chair, with his head 
leaning against one of the footposts of the bedstead, a 
negro-boy snored loud and sonorously. 

After gazing sadly upon the wan and wasted fea- 

12^ 



274: THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

tures before him, Nelson placed his hand npon his 
father's brow. The gentle touch, more effectual than 
the loud noise made by the negro, roused the sick man 
from his feverish slumber. At first, he looked wildly 
npon them, but as he recovered his consciousness, 
there was to their delight more of sadness than indig- 
nation visible in his countenance. 

" Arthur ! Ellen ! how is this ? Why have you not 
been to see me before ?" 

" Indeed, dear father, Arthur never heard that you 
were sick until yesterday, and I was told that you 
were angry with me, and I dared not come except 
when you were asleep." 

" Is it indeed, so ? And you, Arthur, did you not 
receive a letter I dictated '?" 

" I did not, father ! God knows that I did not !" 

" "When I sent for you, Ellen, why did you not 
come ?" 

" I didn't know that you sent for me, father, or I 
would have come and never left you." 

" It is strange," muttered the sick man, " there 
must have been foul play." 

As he spoke, he fell back exhausted, but continued 
to gaze intently upon them. Presently a lethargy 
seemed to creep over him, and his eyes were fast 
closing, when a noise in the entry instantly aroused 
him. Again starting up, he pointed to a portfeuille on 
the table, and said, 

" Quick ! quick ! Give it to me, quick ! Open it," 
he said, as soon as it was brought to him. Nelson 
tried, and failed, for it was securely locked. The 



THE STEP-MOTHEE. 275 

sick man's countenance assumed a ghastly hue as he 
perceived it. Too agitated to speak, he still made 
signs to open it, and Nelson, with some difficulty, 
forced the lock. His father then eagerly looked over 
the papers, and selecting one, was motioning I^elson 
to throw it into the fire, w^hen the door was thrown 
open, and a woman in dishabille, followed by a young 
man, rushed into the apartment. It was the step- 
mother and her son. 

" It is the will, Cornelius ! It is the will !" 
exclaimed the former, as soon as she saw the paper in 
the hands of her husband. " Take it from, him !. Take 
it quick, or we are beggars !" 

The son sprung forward, but was arrested by 
Nelson, who, drawing a pistol, said, 

" Advance one step nearer, and I fire !" 

Cornelius stood aghast. There was consternation in 
the apartment, and the girl sobbed heavily as she 
clung to her brother. But when Nelson looked to his 
father, and saw the dreadful change that was taking 
place in his features, he was struck with remorse, and 
throwing the pistol down, sunk on his knees beside 
the bed. Cornelius now approached, and began 
drawing the paper from the hand of his step-father. 
At this instant, the thought of the destitute condition 
of his sister, changed the purpose of Nelson, and he 
sprung up to prevent him. 

It was unnecessary. The fingers of the dying man 
clutched the paper so tenaciously, that the neglected 
finger-nails cut through it — and it was torn, leaving a 
portion of the signature in his grasp. While the 



276 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

young men straggled, one to secure the paper, the 
other to protect his father from molestation, the latter, 
with his last act of consciousness, gathered the frag- 
ment in his month, and strove to chew it. In the 
act, his eye glazed, his jaw dropped, and his spirit 
took its departure. 

Placing his sister with the family of a friend, and 
employing a lawyer to look after his interests, JSTelson, 
true to his promise, returned at the appointed time. 
But our commander, than whom one more truly 
humane, never trimmed his canvas to the gale, per- 
mitted him to await on shore, the acceptance of the 
resignation he had tendered. 



CHAPTEE XIV. 

It was midsummer when we sailed, and our 
Captain, who was an oddity, proposed that as we 
were approaching yet warmer latitudes, the officers 
should have their heads shaved. The proposition 
was acceded to, and seated at our mess-table, in the 
steerage especially, with the coarse and untempting 
fare before us, and with our shaven heads, we resembled 
more the inmates of a state prison than officers of an 
American man-of-war. 

On our arrival at St. Jago de Cuba, the Captain 
and officers were invited to dine with the Governor. 
Here was a dilemma. To decline would be construed 
as a rudeness, and to accept, in the condition of our 
craniums, would subject us to a most ridiculous exhibi- 
tion. It was determined to encounter the latter, 
rather than give offence where so much kindness was 
intended. A large party was formed, that by general 
participation, individual mortification might be les- 
sened. 

We reached the Government House, and passing 



278 THE MIDSHIPMAN, 

through an ante-room, were ushered immediately into 
the presence of the Governor, his family, and a num- 
ber of assembled guests. We were not prepared to 
see ladies, and in fact expected to find the room 
unoccupied until our arrival was announced. 

When our Captain, who was in advance, saw the 
ladies, he immediately dofled his chapeau, and those 
who. did, and those who did not know the reason, in 
due subordination followed his example. But the 
silk skull-caps we wore, seemed to have a greater 
affinity for the lining of the hats, than for the sleek 
and polished surfaces beneath them. Without an 
exception, we stood with our bald and shaven crowns 
uncovered, looking like so many monks dressed for the 
nonce in regimentals. The ladies applied their hand- 
kerchiefs to suppress a titter ; the gentlemen gnawed 
their lips to restrain a laugh, but, when each of us 
involuntarily clapped a hand to his head, and looked 
at the others in ludicrous amazement, Spanish gravity 
was overcome, and the ladies screamed, and the gen- 
tlemen fairly shouted. Piqued at first, we turned to 
leave the room, but, catching in a mirror the reflection 
of our grotesque appearance, we broke forth into a 
peal, louder and longer sustained than that of our 
entertainers. 

This humorous incident tended more to break down 
the barriers of form, and to establish sociability of 
feeling, than weeks of intercourse could have effected 
under ordinary circumstances. We parted late in the 
evening, mutually delighted. 

We sailed for Havana, with Ex-governor Torres and 



THE SPANISH EIYALS. 2T9 

family as passengers. At first the wind was light and 
steady from northeast, but it gradually hauled to the 
southward, and blew heavily. The days were gloomy, 
the nights exceedingly dark, the navigation intricate, 
and the weather exceedingly sultry. The sea ran 
very high, and the wind, in severe flurries, threw up 
the spray in a blinding spoondrift. 

On the evening of the third day, the wind abated, 
but, it was succeeded by a violent thunderstorm. The 
lightning, forked and vivid, absolutely made our eyes 
ache, while our ears were deafened with loud and 
incessant peals of thunder. 

We had afterwards a smooth sea, but the weather 
was humid and oppressive. We reached Havana in 
eight days, after a passage tedious to bs, and most 
disagreeable to our passengers. 

Among a number of prisoners confined in the Moro 
Castle here, under^. sentence of death, there is a young 
Spaniard, whose history is a sad one. He is a native 
of the town of Adra the ancient Ahdera (but not the 
birthplace of Democritus), in the province of Grenada, 
on the northern shore of the Mediterranean. 

His father was extensively engaged in the manufac- 
ture of barilla, an alkali, produced by incineration 
from a plant of the same name. 

Under the tuition of the clergyman of the parish, 
Andreas Gomara acquired some knowledge of the 
classics, and at the age of nineteen, was sent to 
Valencia to study law, under Miguel Fonte, an advo- 
cate of distinction. 

Under the roof of this austere old gentleman, 



280 THE MIBSHIPMAK. 

Gomara spent two happy years. Although the rude 
manners and abrupt speech of Senor Fonte, would at 
times mortify the pride and excite the resentment of 
the student, yet he found a consolation in the society 
of the old gentleman's niece, Esperanza. According to 
Gomara's account, she must have been a noble creature. 
Tall and commanding — with hair of raven blackness, 
her full, dark eye, by turns moistened with sensibility, 
or sparkled with enthusiasm. Her complexion was 
brilliant, and her glorious bust, her arms symmetri- 
cally rounded, and a foot and ancle that would have 
shamed Atalanta, completed her majestic, yet graceful 
figure. 

Gomara was nearly three years her senior — ^but his 
education was less complete, his manners were less 
refined, and he was by nature irritable and im- 
petuous. 

The disposition of the lady was as lovely as her 
person. Susceptible, but not easily swayed, gentle 
assiduity might wm her regard, while rudeness or 
persecution would arouse her pride or awaken her 
resentment. She was of a cheerful, and he of a 
saturnine temperament. As we usually admire in 
others, the traits in which we are ourselves deficient, 
it is probable that the attachment of Gomara might 
have met with a requital, but for rivalry in an unex- 
pected quarter. 

Lorenzo Obregon, the son of an officer of the 
Customs, nearly of the same age, was, in every other 
respect, the reverse of Gomara. Taller and fairer, 
but less compactly built, he was versed in every 



THE RIVALS. 281 

manly accomplishment, and had won tlie first honors 
in his collegiate course. Courteous in his manners, 
his unassuming deportment covered a spirit, which 
ever rose in proportion to the difficulties it en- 
countered. 

It is well known that the Spaniards are an unsocial 
race, and that the intercourse between the sexes, 
which with us is almost unrestricted, is among them 
confined within narrow limitations. If a young 
Spanish lady be not, like most of her sex, contracted 
in early life, she is permitted, with her duenna sitting 
near, to converse with her lover who stands outside 
the window. Not until the offer is made, approved, 
and accepted, are those inhospitable doors unbarred. 

Esperanza was of the first class, and her uncle, who 
was also her guardian, had contracted with the father 
of Gomara for an alliance of their families, provided 
the parties should become attached to each other. 

Hence, their domiciliation under the same roof, but 
under circumstances of such precaution, that on the 
score of opportunity to press his suit, Gomara had as 
well taken his station beneath the balcony. Never- 
theless, in the little attentions he was enabled to pay 
her at meal times, and as her companion on occasional 
excursions, Esperanza, with the keen perception of her 
sex, had understood his feelings long before he was 
himself aware of their existence. 

It is the province of love to beget love, and such in 
all probability would have been the result in the pre- 
sent instance, but for an unforeseen occurrence. 

On the eve of the feast of St. Jago, the patron saint 



282 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

of Spain, nearly the whole population of Yalencia 
was assembled in a large, circular building, to witness 
" las corridos de toros," the bull fights, which were to 
be exhibited on a magnificent scale. From the low bar- 
rier which encircled the arena, and separated it fronx" 
the seats of the spectators, to the top of the building, 
all that rendered youth attractive, or was high in 
rank, or venerable in age, were gathered in eager 
expectation. 

Within the arena, were three Piccadores, gaudily 
dressed and mounted on horses well trained and 
richly caparisoned. They were armed with lances, 
and took their stations, two in advance, on each side 
one, and the other in the rear, immediately fronting 
the gate, by which the bull would enter. Hovering 
near each Piccadore were several Chulos, some with 
crimson mantles thrown over their shoulders, and 
others with banners of the same color in their hands. 
The barrier was about five feet high, and the lowest 
tier of benches but a short distance from it. 

Directly before the gate, with one knee to the 
ground, and the butt end of a long spear resting 
against it, was a stalwart and swarthy man — a prisoner 
under sentence of death. Some circumstance divulged 
to the authorities, subsequent to his trial, and tending 
slightly to mitigate his offence, had induced the 
substitution of the present alternative, and in the 
place of the impartial award of justice, or of merciful 
interposition where a doubt is presented, the vindica- 
tion of the injured rights of society was entrusted to 
the insensate fury of a beast. 



THE RIVALS. 283 

The restless fans had ceased to move; the rich 
mantillas were thrown back upon the heads they 
rather graced than protected, and every eye was 
directed to the Governor for the expected signal. It 
was given; and the buzz of conversation instanta- 
neously hushed, as a bugle rang out a wild and 
startling note. Its last shrill blast was answered by a 
deafening roar ; the gate at the upper end was thrown 
open, and a ferocious bull bounded into the arena. 

An instant before, the poor man in front was seen to 
cross himself, then crouching low, he desperately 
clutched his lance, and endeavored to give it the right 
direction. The next moment man and beast were 
rolling together in the dust — the bull bellowing with 
pain, while the criminal clung to the horn which 
gored his vitals. The head of the spear, diverging a 
little to the right, had taken just within the shoulder 
joint, and passing through, had nearly severed the 
limb from the body — a few inches more to the left 
and it would have pierced the heart. But the wound, 
severe and painful as it was, could not immediately 
check the headlong impetus of the bull. A long and 
pointed horn ripped open the abdomen, from which 
the entrails protruded, and the man expired in agony, 
while the bull furiously tossed his head and floundered 
about to sustain himself on his feet. A murmur of 
disappointment escaped the multitude, not that the 
man was 'killed^ but that the conflict had been so 
uninteresting and so soon decided. 

A Matador now advanced, dressed in embroidered 
black velvet, aad armed only with a sword. Making 



284 THE MIDSHIPMAK. 

obeisance to the Governor, lie solicited and received 
the desired permission. Seeking his opportunity as 
the bull rushed by, he thrust his long Toledo blade 
through its heart up to the hilt. The animal staggered, 
reeled, and fell. 

The gate was again thrown open, and the body of 
the unfortunate man carried off. 

Three mules, profusely decorated with ribbons of 
many colors, were then brought in, and hitched to the 
carcass of the bull, which was dragged away at a rapid 
pace, amid shouts and sounds of music. 

Again the gate was closed — the sawdust which 
covered the arena was raked smooth, and the Picca- 
dores and Chulos resum^ed their positions. Again the 
bugle sounded ; again, and as suddenly as before, the 
gate was thrown open, and another bull, fiercer than 
the first, sprung from his dark recess. Dazzled by the 
glare of light, and confounded by the noise, he stood 
for an instant gazing with a bewildered air. The 
Piccador on the left caught his eye ; he gave one roar, 
pawed the dust, bowed his head, and with his eyes 
closed, and his tail erect, rushed immediately uj)on 
him. The Piccador reined his horse a little back, and 
with the butt of his lance pressed against his side, 
awaited the charge. The shaggy front of the assail- 
ant received the point of the lance on the upper part, 
where, glancing along the neck, it inflicted a severe 
gash. The irresistible force of the charge, however, 
seemed to be in no wise impeded, and horse and 
rider were whirled to the ground. The building now 
rang with the cry of " Bravo ! Bravo Toro !" and 



THE EIVALS, 285 

handkercliiefs were waved and jewelled hands were 
clapped in acclamation ; while the bull, with his 
horns buried in the body of the horse, pressed harder 
and harder down, as if to pin to the earth the poor 
animal, which absolutely shrieked beneath him. The 
Piccador, with one leg crushed beneath the horse, 
strove in vain to free himself, until one of the Ohulos 
sprung forward and waved his mantle. The bull 
immediately gave chase to him — others came to his 
assistance, and diverted the wrath of the animal from 
one to the other, until the wounded Piccador and his 
horse were borne from the arena. 

The bull, whose loss of blood seemed not to have 
diminished his strength or tamed his spirit, now 
made a charge against another of the Piccadores. 
This one was mounted on a horse unusually restive, 
and when his rider attempted to rein him back, he 
reared, and plunged, and threw himself upon his 
haunches. The bull, with his eye-s closed, rushed by 
the spot where the horse had stood, and bringing up 
with dreadful force against the barrier, it gave way 
with a crash. It was at that part where sat the lady 
Esperanza, her uncle, and her admirer. There was 
instant clamor, and each one, wild with fright, sought 
safety by springing up the ascending benches. 
Gomara had instantly seized hold of Esperanza, and 
was bearing her out, but impeded by the throng 
above, his efforts would have been unavailing — for the 
bull, recovered from the shock, was about to rush 
upon them. While they stood breathless, agonized 
with fear, Lorenzo forced his way from above, and 



286 THE MroSHIPMAN. 

snatching from Esperanza's neck a crimson scarf she 
wore, lie threw himself before the animal, and held it 
forth with one hand, while he presented his sword 
with the other. As soon as the bull beheld the color 
which enrages him, he dashed at the cavalier, and 
the multitude betrayed its fear in a wild cry of 
horror. Esperanza, refusing to be borne further, 
seemed transfixed to the spot, as she gazed upon the 
man who seemed bent upon preserving her life by the 
sacrifice of his own. A quick eye and a steady hand 
served Lorenzo faithfully. The weapon was true to 
its aim, and with the blood gushing out, the bull 
floundered about a minute or two, and then fell heavily 
against the lower tier of benches. 

At the moment of the encounter, Esperanza had 
clasped her hands together in a half-despairing, half- 
imploring attitude : but, when the bull turned aside 
by the desperate lunge, began to stagger about, she 
released herself from the grasp of Gomara, and 
advanced immediately to the prostrate form of 
Lorenzo. But when, as he was lifted up by some of the 
bystanders, she perceived that he was unwounded, 
and so far sensible as to catch the anxious expression 
of her face, she hurried up, and taking her uncle by 
the arm, precipitately left the building. 

"With many encomiums on the gallantry of Lorenzo, 
her uncle severely chid her for the unmaidenly inte- 
rest she had evinced. She bore his reproof in silence, 
but when Gomara, in a complaining tone, asked why 
she had refused to fly with him, she replied, " Tou 
consulted my safety, and I thank you — but Tie (she did 



THE KIVALS. 287 

not name him) staked his life against the peril from 
which you sought to fly." 

The words escaped her without reflection, and she 
did not dream of their effect. They were long trea- 
sured in bitter remembrance, and led to a most 
lamentable result. 

Senor Fonte called the next day upon the parents 
of Lorenzo, and expressed his warmest acknowledg- 
ments for the preservation of his niece. Thus com- 
menced an intercourse between the familres, and 
Lorenzo who, unnoticed and unknown, had long wor- 
shipped at a distance, was now favored with an oppor- 
tunity to avow his admiration. The smile with 
which Esperanza ever greeted him, was soon accompa- 
nied with a blush, and she felt that she was beloved — 
and he that his love was requited. 

Gomara, with jaundiced eye, watched their pro- 
ceedings, and soon discovered by the averted look and 
altered tone of Esperanza, that another engrossed her 
affections. In the bitterness of his heart, he swore to 
be revenged. With nearly the whole of his quarter's 
allowance sent him by his father, he purchased a 
costly present, with which he bribed the old duenna. 
Directed by him, she contrived to place in Espe- 
ranza's hands a letter purporting to be from Lorenzo 
to another lady, wherein the latter was extolled, and 
herself grossly ridiculed and depreciated. 

When the lovers next met, Esperanza, in as indiffer- 
ent a tone as she could command, inquired of Lorenzo 
if he knew the Seiiorita Noreiga. 



288 THE MmSHIPMAN. 

" Tes," he replied, " she is the sister of a dear 
friend of mine." 

" N"o doubt the sister is the dearest of the two/' 
said Esperanza, and coolly bidding him good night, 
retired from the balcony. 

Thus they separated. For the first time he thought 
her capricious ; and she, arguing from her fears, 
believed him unfaithful. They never met again. 
Night after night, for near a week, Lorenzo wandered 
to and fro beneath the balcony, and with guitar and 
song, called in vain upon his mistress to appear. 
Invisible, but looking on, her obduracy was in propor- 
tion to her previous fondness. But so plaintive were 
his notes, so deeply fond his words, that but for 
wounded pride, she would have pushed aside the 
lattice, and listened to his explanation. His last stanza, 
as for the last time he turned in melancholy mood 
away, breathed such sad and determined constancy, 
that throughout life her memory vividly retained it. 
Indifferently translated it ran thus : — 

Lady farewell ! Henceforth my anguished breast, 
Shall cherish grief as its abiding guest. 
Life has no charm — nor earth one cheerful hu« 
Nor hope one solace — save the thought of you. 

Advised by the duenna that Esperanza's pride could 
not long withstand the importunities of her lover, and 
convinced that an explanation would be fatal to his 
hopes, Gomara determined on yet more energetic 
measures. 

The next evening, as Lorenzo slowly turned into the 
street, wherein was situated the house of his mistress, 



THE RIVALS. 289 

he waa jostled by a masked cavalier, wlio in an impe- 
rious tone demanded, " Do yon take the wall of me, 
sir ?" 

" And who are you that so rudely questions me ?" 

" This shall answer you,^' — and the cavalier drawing 
his sword, struck Lorenzo a sharp blow with the back 
of it 

" Ha 1" exclaimed Lorenzo as he drew his own, 
" and this shall avenge me," 

Their swords tvfinkled in the dim starlight, and 
clashed, loudly in the still air of the deserted streets, as 
with justly aroused anger on one side, and a vindictive 
jealousy on the other, each, reckless of his own, was 
bent only on taking the life of his opponent. After seve- 
ral ineffectual passes, Lorenzo made a desperate lunge 
which was parried with such force, that his too highly 
tempered blade shivered at the hilt and left him 
entirely defenceless. Gomara with his heart steeled 
against every feeling but that of revenge, cowardly 
took the advantage, and running his adversary through, 
left him weltering in blood. The noise had attracted 
the attention of the neighbors, but none dared venture 
out, until it had ceased. Embedded in gore Lorenzo 
had breathed his last. In his bosom was found a piece 
of parchment neatly secured, containing a lock of hair 
with the word " Esperanza." The mask worn by 
Gomara had fallen off in the rencotmter, and wa3 for- 
gotten in his precipitate flight. It was recognised by 
the duenna, as one he had prevailed upon her to pro- 
cure for him. Weak and sordid as she was, she shrunk 



U 



290 THE MIDSHIPMAK-. 

with horror from the thought of bloodshed. Penetrated 
with remorse, she confessed that she had conveyed the 
letter and procm^ed the mask, but solemnly protested 
that she knew not for what purpose the latter was 
intended. 

It was nniversally believed in Talencia that Lorenzo 
had been assailed and overcome by ruffians in the em- 
ployment of Gomara ; and the latter was obliged to 
fly from the city. On reaching Adra, his father 
refused to see him. Eejected from the roof which 
should last have sheltered, and repulsed by the hand 
which ought to have been stretched forth to reclaim 
him, he turned in bitterness away, and homeless and 
friendless, secreted himself in the mountains. Want 
drove him from his concealment to mingle with outcasts 
like himself — and the same stern necessity compelled 
him to become one of a lawless and degraded frater- 
nity. He joined a well-organized and notorious band 
of smugglers. 

Gomara had pursued this hazardous life about three 
months, when one evening, a brig laden with contra- 
band articles anchored near the shore. Shortly after 
nightfall, with eight others, he was sent out to her in 
a felucca. A little after midnight they had procured 
a load and started for the shore. 

Notwithstanding the cautious movements of the brig, 
they had been observed from one of the Martello 
tov/ers which line the coast ; and when the felucca 
touched the beach, a party of soldiers who had been 
concealed behind a projecting crag, rushed forth and 
attacked her crew. The smugglers were armed and 



THE RIYALS. . 291 

made resistance, but were overpowered and secured. 
The survivors were taken to Valencia and cast into 
prison. The trial was fixed for an early day ; and as 
two of the soldiers had been killed in the afiray, there 
was no doubt of the prisoners being condemned to 
death. 

Gomara wrote to his father. Like the prodigal son, 
he declared himself unworthy, and pleaded guilty to 
the conflict he had provoked with, and the advantage 
he had taken of his rival, but called upon God to 
witness that he had not employed an assassin. The 
father relented, and hastening to Valencia, besought 
the influence of Senor Fonte in behalf of his unhappy 
son. 

The meeting of those two old men was painful in 
the extreme. The father grieved for a son, once his 
pride, now manacled as a felon, and doomed either 
to a life of degradation or an ignominious death. The 
uncle mourned the purpose of his life frustrated. His 
niece, the heiress of his possessions, in whom were 
centred his hopes and his affections, heart-broken, 
had resolved to abandon the world, and bury herself 
and her sorrows within the walls of a cloister. But 
the unhappy are seldom unfeeling, and among the 
" sv/eetest uses of adversity " is the sympathy it awak- 
ens for the sufferings of others. 

Ostensibly, on a technical plea in reality, through 
the influence of the advocate, the sentence of death 
was commuted to banishment to the colonies. 

Some evening's after, as the turnkey was locking up 
the prisoners for the night, he examined carefully the 



292 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

manacles on Gomara. As he did so, he whispered, 
" Do you sleep sound f and without saying more or 
waiting for a reply, he turned away. But there was 
that in his eye which enkindled hope. Long after the 
deep breathing of his companions apprised Gomara 
that his companions had found a temporary reprieve 
from their sorrows, he laid nervously awake listening 
for the slightest sound of an approaching footstep. 
Overpowered at last by drowsiness, he fell asleep. He 
was awakened by some one pressing lightly on his 
chest, and whispering, " Arise, but say not a word." 

His irons were silently removed,. and with noiseless 
step he followed his deliverer through the gloom. 

Unchallenged by the sentinel, who evidently pre- 
tended not to see them, they passed through the outer 
gate, beside which stood his father. The afflicted 
parent threw himself upon his son, and fairly sobbed 
aloud, — then recovering himself, he took his hand and 
led him rapidly away. 

If the interview between the old men had been 
painful, the one between the father and the son was 
agonizing. The one,' in an evil hour, had yielded to 
the worst passions of his nature, and goaded by vin- 
dictive jealousy, took a cowardly advantage of a dis- 
armed adversary. The other, by hardening his heart 
against its best and most natural imj)ulse, had driven 
his child, young, friendless, and with a mark upon 
his brow, to consort with reckless and unprincipled 
men. 

They soon reached the banks of the Guadalquiver, 
where a boat laid Wiii'.Iiig to convey Gomara to a ves- 



THE EIVALS. 293 

sel at the river's moutli. At parting, his father gave 
him a purse with a letter to a friend in Gibraltar. As 
they separated Gomara turned and said,^ — 

" Father ! the lady Esperanza, how is she ?" 

" Alas, my son ! think not of her. She is lost to 
you and to us all forever. She takes the veil to-mor- 
row." 

Gomara drooped his head, and turning silently 
away, was rowed down the stream. His father, by a 
mute gesture bade him farewell, and when the boat 
was out of sight, threw himself upon the ground and 
wept long and bitterly. He then hastened home to 
brood upon his sorrow. 

The next day was the feast of the nativity of the 
Virgin. Before the high altar of the Cathedral stood 
the bishop in full pontificals, with many assistants 
round him. The richly chased censer threw upward 
its aromatic cloud of incense, which dimmed the light 
of numerous candles placed amid vases of flowers, 
with images of cherubim and seraphim beside and 
above them. Near the tabernacle, a figure in female 
drapery, with its hands clasped together, and a coun- 
tenance expressive of unutterable grief, represented 
the Yirgin. TEIer gaze was fixed upon a crucifix above 
her, upon which was suspended an image of the 
Saviour ; the last towering above all as high as reve 
rence is inferior to devotion. 

In full and melodious volume, the peal of the organ 
burst upon the ear, as the celebrant chanted the beau- 
tiful anthem, " Glory to God on high !" first heard by 
the guardian shepherds of Bethlehem. The immenso 



294 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

congregation rose from their knees, and standing, list- 
tened with feelings attuned to piety, while the choir 
took up and in notes of exquisite melody, concluded 
the anthem. Presently it was hushed ; the congrega- 
tion resumed its attitude of prayer, and from the 
assembled hundreds not the slightest sound was heard, 
as in a subdued voice, the celebrant recited the office of 
the day. As he concluded, the organ again struck up, 
but no longer in a triumphant strain. Its tones, pro- 
longed and sad, prepared the mind for meditation. 

Before the close of the soothing, though melancholy 
hymn which succeeded, a wild and solemn chant was 
heard approaching, and from a door beside the altar, 
two and two, arrayed in snow-white garments, a long 
line of nuns entered, and took their places within the 
sanctuary. Last came the Lady Abbess, supporting a 
female exquisitely, nay superbly attired. It was 
Esperanza. 

*^ A veil translucent o'er her brows displayed, — 
Her beauty seenaed, and only seemed to shade." 

More beautiful than ever, her beauty was of a dif- 
ferent cast. Her cheeks had lost their tint, her lips 
their coral hue, and her complexion was pure and 
colorless as virgin wax. But her eye was kindled 
with devotion, and her features bore an expression so 
angelic, that it seemed as if some celestial being stood 
before them. Chastened by sorrow, and purified by 
divine love, she appeared too good for earth, and 
almost fit for Heaven. 

The solemn and impressive scene of renouncing the 



THE JUTALS. 295 

world, its vanities, and its pomp, now followed. One 
by one, the jewels and embroidery were thrown aside, 
and last of all, the peculiar pride and most becoming 
ornament of the sex, the luxuriant hair was cut and 
laid upon the altar. As this was done, the death-like 
silence of the moment was interrupted by a. deep groan, 
and a man fell heavily beside the column nearest the 
sanctuary. 

Gomara, instead of remaining concealed in the ves- 
sel, had returned to the shore to witness the renuncia- 
tion of the world by the being whom he worshipped 
with all the maddening fervor of his impetuous 
nature. 

He was recognized, again committed, and eventually 
transported to Cuba. The ministers of the law plun- 
dered him of all he possessed, and penniless and 
threadbare, he was thrown upon a strange land. 
Friendless, and without occupation, for he had the 
brand of a convict upon him, the ci-devant smuggler, 
reckless and desperate, became an active and notorious 
pirate. He was taken, condemned, and before we left 
the port, ignominiously executed. 

I have given the general outlines of his story, as 
related to me by one who had it from himself. The 
details, if given in full, with the difficulties he en 
countered, and the efforts he made to subdue them, 
would present him perhaps in the light of one as much 
to be pitied as condemned. High tempered and 
devoid of magnanimity, one rash and cowardly act 
blasted his hopes ; and his rankling- pride led him 
afterwards to prefer a war against his kind, rathe-r 



296 THE MIDSHIPMAlsr. 

than by amendment atone for tlie injury he had 

inflicted. His first and greatest enemy was his own 

vindictive temper ; the second, was the imforgiving 

disposition of his father. The first drove him to a 

dreadful crime ; the second hardened a heart that 

might have been, softened into repentance. 

^ ^ ^ ^ -jf -jf 

It was soon determined to fit out our launch for an 
expedition against the pirates. The lieutenant who 
was appointed to command her, honored and gratified 
me with an invitation to accompany him. My favorite 
messmate Lindsay, (son of Col. Lindsay of the army,) 
entreated to be taken alang, but he was on the sick list 
and the surgeon objected. I was as much disappointed 
as himself, for we were sworn and intimate friends. 

We started at an early hour of the night, and just 
before shoving off", Lindsay came to take leave of me. 
Until that moment, I had -n^ot dreamed that he was in 
danger. His hand was parched and feverish ; his brow 
was flush-ed and his eye glistened with unusual lustre. 
An icy thrill shot through me, for I felt that my 
friend's days, were numbered. He seemed to labor 
under a similar presentiment, for his spirits were 
depressed and the tones of his voice were sad. With 
a. gushing remembrance of the many happy hours we 
had spent together ; of the many endearing proofs 
each had given to the other, we parted as those do, 
who never expect to meet again. I saw that he 
yearned to embrace me, and had we been sheltered 
from observation, I could have laid my head upon 
his shoulder and wept. The unbidden tear gathered 



AN EXPEDITIOlSr. 297 

in my eye as I bade him farewell, and the last thing 
I saw was the shadowy outline of my friend standing 
motionless on the spot where I left him. 

As soon as we were clear of the harbor, we steered for 
Salt Key, where we were to meet the steam-brig, which 
would tow us to windward, and furnish us with the 
necessary provisions. But a little after midnight the 
clouds gathered in thick masses, and a heavy squall 
of wind and rain overtook us. This squall was the 
precursor of another and another, imder the influence 
of which the sea rose, and our boat too heavy to be 
buoyant, plunged deeply, and rising with difiiculty to 
the sea, became exceedingly wet and uncomfortable, 
and excited apprehensions of yet more serious conse- 
quences. At length, the wind freshened so much, 
that we could no longer carry sail, unless before it, 
which would have been certain destruction to our 
clumsy boat. We were compelled to lay to under the 
oars, — that is, taking in all sail, we kept the boat head 
to wind and sea with some of the oars, while others of 
the crew were employed in bailing out the water we 
were every instant receiving. It was a situation as 
perilous as it was uncomfortable, and required unceas- 
ing vigilance and dexterity in the helmsman. 

The blow continued through the night ; but abated 
a little after sunrise, when we made the best of our 
way to the place of destination. The steam-brig was 
not there, and we waited for her until the next morn- 
ing. She had not then made her appearance, and we 
started to run towards Matanzas in quest of her. On 
our way we met her, and the lieutenant went on board 
13* 



298 THE MIDSHIPMAIT. 

to procure some provisions for us, while our boat was 
made fast to and towed by a hawser from astern. 
Before the provisions were ready, the wind freshened 
so rapidly that as night had set in, it was thought 
advisable to defer sending them to us until the morn- 
ing. Almost famished, and with a plentiful meal 
prepared for us we were denied a morsel of food. 
The wind increased during the night, and at daylight 
the brig was obliged to lengthen our scope of hawser, 
lest we should drag under the fast rising sea. 

Throughout that day, and the ensuing night, the 
gale continued, and on the second day became so fierce 
that the brig w^as obliged to scud before it. All ves- 
sels steer badly when scudding before a gale, but the 
brig, which was never very obedient to the helm, 
yawed dreadfully, at one moment bringing a star to 
bear sharp on the bow, and the next, broad upon the 
quarter. It was with the greatest difiiculty that we 
could steer the boat so as to keep her from being 
drao['o:ed broadside under. We had now been for two 
days without food, except some broken ship's biscuit 
soaked by the spray, which parched us with a thirst 
that our stinted allowance of water could not slake. 
Starvation stared us in the face, while our friends in 
the brig were revelling in abundance. Pitching and 
tossing in the wildest and most alarming manner, our 
boat swerved so rapidly from side to side that all their 
attempts to convey food to us proved unsuccessful. 
"With boding thoughts of death, — of the sweeping 
wave, — the brief stniggle, — the last cry stifled by the 
water which gurgled down the unwilling throat, wo 



A DISMAL NIGHT. 299 

gazed upon the setting sun. But, we could detect '' no 
token of a goodly morrow." Although the swift wind 
whirled the spray before it and chilled as it swept 
by us, yet the peril was so great, that each one strip- 
ped himself of his peajacket"^ to be ready for a swim; 
while, turn about^ one sat at the bow with a hatchet 
in his hand, prepared to cut the hawser, when it 
became necessary to do so, to prevent the boat from 
swamping. 

It was a dreadful night. The brig rolled so heavily 
as to show at times her very keel, and swept along 
with varied speed. Sometimes, almost arrested, as 
she clambered up some huge wave, our hawser would 
be slackened as we neared her ; the next moment, she 
had bounded over the crest, and the hawser fairly 
cracked with the strain, while we were dragged for- 
ward with breathless velocity. The moon and stars 
w^ere shut out, and it seemed as if an immense black 
pall was spread above us. The sea too was so phos- 
phorescent that the sinuous wake of the brig was 
filled as it w^ere, with innumerable sparks, wiiile the 
huge waves, with their combing crests, looked like 
great surges of flame. So great was the light that we 
could with ease have read the smallest print,- — but 
alas! all that we had to read was the deep anxiety 
imprinted on each other's countenance. The Protect- 
ing Power above preserved us through that dismal 
night. 

The sun rose more auspicious than he had gone 
down, and by noon the gale began to moderate. As 

* A sailor's overcoat. 



300 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

soon as the danger was past, I threw myself down, 
fairly spent, while the eqnally wearied but generous 
sailors took their turns to steer the boat. Kot one 
would lie* down before I did. 

Some hours after, I awoke with the sun streaming 
full in my face. The first thing I did was to put out 
my hand and feel the line, which, throughout the gale, 
we had kept trolling astern in the hope of catching a 
fish. I thought that it felt heavier than usual, but ¥/as 
for some time uncertain. In a short time, my doubts 
were removed, and I joyfully called upon some of the 
crew to assist me. We hauled in a large bonita, one 
of the finest fish that swims the Gulf, and at the news 
the sleepers roused up, forgetful of fatigue in the 
ravenous calls of hunger. There was, in the bottom 
of the boat, an iron pot, fitted for cooking, but which 
alas ! had not been used for many days. We threw 
the panting fish into it, together with the remains of 
our water-soaked and mouldy biscuit. We then hud- 
dled around the pot to screen it from the spray, and 
with much difficulty lighted a fire by the flash of a 
pistol. Occasionally seasoned by a few drops of spray, 
our rude breakfast was in a short time prepared, and 
the pampered alderman who would have given fifty 
pounds for the appetite of the beggar to whom he 
denied a shilling, might surely have doubled the price 
for a participation in our enjoyment. We did eat, 
as those may be supposed to do who have long fasted, 
and know not when they will partake of another meal. 
Our hunger satisfied, we again slept, the necessary 



A VISIONARY. 301 

watch excepted, and when w^e awoke, the ocean 
although yet troubled, was fast subsiding. 

After scouring about three hundred miles along the 
coast, we separated from the brig, and started unac- 
companied on our return. As we were directed to 
examine thoroughly several islands in our route, 
extreme vigilance was necessary, and three volunteers 
from the brig, were added to our crew. One of them, 
young and unpretending, soon attracted our attention, 
and excited our sympathy. In manner he was 
reserved, for he was exceedingly visionary, and lived 
in an atmosphere of his own cre-ation. Forgetful of 
the present, his mind ever reverted to the past, or 
peopled the future with imaginary beings. Yet his 
disposition was more a resigned than a melancholy 
one ; the images on which his imagination loved to 
dwell, though often singular, were clothed in chaste 
and becoming drapery, and the language in which he 
spoke to us was startling from its novelty, and not 
unfrequently rich in its unstudied elegance. He was 
ill when he joined us, but concealed it, and the next 
day he was raving, with the fever at its height. In 
his lucid intervals, he related to us a portion of his 
history, at which we could not smile, although it 
severely tasked our credulity. 

He was the only son of a schoolmaster, who gave 
him a classical education, and when he attained the 
proper age, procured him a situation in a clerk's 
office of an adjoining county. 

Hartman was assiduous in his attendance at the 
office, but from inattention made many mistakes in the 



302 THE MIDSHIPMAN. 

performance of his duty. His principal task was to 
copy deeds, where, by errors in dates and titles, by 
frequent omissions of sentences and transposition of 
words, he seyerely tried the patience of his benevo- 
lent employer. In fact, he was in every sense of the 
word, a dreamer. He had his reveries by day, and 
superstitiously cherished his nightly dreams as fore- 
shado wings of the future. 

At one time, he had been dispatched on distant 
business. Before he reached his place of destination, 
he was taken ill and confined to his bed in a remote 
and poorly-furnished inn. The first night he dreamed 
that his stepmother bought him a garment, which he 
was about to put on, but from a sudden impulse, for 
which he could not account, he threw it aside. He 
awoke with the firm conviction that he would be very 
ill, but certainly recover, and to the alarm of his kind- 
hearted landlord, would not allow a physician to be 
summoned. The strength of his constitution, invigo- 
rated by his perfect confidence of recovery, bore him 
safely through a sickness protracted by several re- 
lapses. 

About six months after, he dreamed that the same 
person presented a similar garment, and he had reached 
forth his hand to receive it, when his father stepping 
between, took it and put it on himself. This time, 
Hartman woke, with the full persuasion that he would 
again be ill, but that his father either had died, or was 
at the last extremity. In this conviction, without the 
permission of his employer, who laughed at his idle 
fears, he started for home. His disordered imagina- 



A VISIONARY. 303 

tion preying upon a body already perhaps in the 
incipient stage of disease, brought on, in part, the 
realization of his fears, and another spell of wasting 
illness followed. The death of his father about the 
time, and, as he protested, at the very hour he had 
seen him assume the garment, strengthened his deep- 
rooted faith in the mystic revelations of his dream. 
When he recovered, besides the death of his father, he 
had another misfortune to deplore. The patience of 
his employer had been tried too far, and he lost his 
situation. 

Thriftless, without present means, and destitute of 
the energy which begets resources, poor Hartman 
wandered to the seaboard, and at last, in abject want, 
presented himself at a naval rendezvous, and enlisted 
in the service. He was detailed as one of the crew of 
the steam-brig, where his listless habits rendering him 
unfit for active duties, he was assigned a situation 
which condemned him to sedentary occupation, and 
by confinement impaired his health. 

The night before we parted from the brig, he 
dreamed that the same ill-omened female tendered 
him the garment, which, like that of JSTessus, is fatal 
to the isfQ^irQv—and that he put it on. Of his own 
death, he was now assured, and in the morning, with 
moving earnestness, entreated to be sent with us ; 
because, as he afterwards said, he could not abide to 
die in the cramped and narrow place allotted to the 
sick, where not only the heavens, but their very light, 
was excluded, and the air was vitiated before reach- 
ing it. 



304 THE MmSHTPMAN. 

The second evening he died. The same night we 
ran close along the shore of Oayo Eomano, intending 
to land on some sequestered spot, in order to bury the 
body. Under the far-stretching shadow of the trees 
which feathered the sides and summits of the hills, we 
slowly skimmed along, the sound of the light ripple 
beneath the bows drowned in the murmur of the waves 
as they slowly tumbled upon the beach. 

We had long ceased to converse, and our eyes and 
ears were strained to see or catch the sight or sound 
of a movement upon the shore. The profound still- 
ness was disturbed, and we instinctively started at 
the sound of a loud and peculiar shriek. It was the 
Cat-o'-mountain, the most ferocious native of the 
forest, lured from its den by the scent of mortality. 
We now knew that however deep we might dig the 
grave of our companion, his remains would be disin- 
terred by these ravenous beasts, who, their first start- 
ling cry exchanged for a fierce and angry growl, stood 
upon the hill side, and with greedy eyes watched our 
proceedings. 

We turned our boat's head to seaward, and pulling 
out into deep water, as the moon went down and the 
stars shone forth in increased lustre, and the gentle 
wind wafted from the land the odor of tropical fruits 
and plants, with one prayer recited aloud, and many 
silent aspirations for the welfare of his soul, we com- 
mitted his body to the deep. The disparted wave 
closed in, and shut him from our sight. We resumed 
our devious path along the coast, and in the exciting 



A FALSE ALARM. 305 

nature of our duty, soon forgot the melancholy fate 
of the poor visionary. 

We approached the harbor of Matanzas, where we 
were to rejoin our ship at a late hour of the night. 
The full, unclouded moon shed her soft and silvery 
light upon a placid scene. Far in the depths beneath, 
glanced the lights of a mimic sky ; clear as at noon- 
day, the whitewashed houses were reflected in the 
liquid mirror beneath them ; the hills were basking 
in light, the valleys were mantled in shade, and with 
their bows in various directions, the ships rode to the 
flickering airs — and ships and houses, the hills, the 
valleys, the bay and the distant ocean, were as still, as 
if the wand of the enchanter had been waved above 
them. 

"With slow and noiseless stroke we rowed w^ell into 
the harbor, when the silence was suddenly broken by 
the boom of our small piece of artillery, and the sharp 
report of all our musketry. As the echo reverbei-ated 
among the distant hills, each of our crew blew with 
his conch-shell a discordant blast. The alarm in- 
stantly spread ; the garrison flew to arms ; the ships 
of war beat to quarters, and there was consternation 
in the town. 

As I stepped over the side of the Hornet, my first 
question was for Lindsay. Alas ! my presentiments 
were not unfounded. He was no more ! 

" A generous spirit marked his short career, 
And rising greatness was implanted there. 
Ardent for fame — impatient to sustain 
His country's glory on the raging main. 



306 THE MIDSHIPMAN, 

The young aspirant left his native shore, 

To which fate doomed him to return no more.'' 

I was soon promoted to another vessel, and from a 
most excellent, transferred my allegiance to another 
commander. Differing in many respects from the 
former, my present commander is two removes from 
the highest grade in the service. When he attains 
the last, as if he live he unquestionably will, under 
a system which advances alike the worthless and the 
deserving, he will not be the least among the Post- 
Captains in the navy. 

We proceeded to the coast of Mexico for specie, 
and anchored in an exposed and open roadstead. 
Behind was a dangerous, and for us an impassable 
reef, marked by the foam which crested its lashing 
and far-sounding surf. Before us, with its dark and 
angry waves driven onward by a fresh northerly 
wind, was the broad expanse of the Gulf of Mexico. 

As soon as we had anchored, the boats were hoisted 
out, and an oflScer and crew sent in the launch for 
water. They were well aware of the danger to which 
they were thus unnecessarily exposed. The expedition 
was considered unnecessary, for we were but a few 
weeks from port, and had an ample stock of water on 
hand. It was deemed cruel to dispatch it at such a 
time, for the indications of a storm were evident to the 
least observing. 

The officer took leave of us with a compressed lip, 
and his eye flashed as he listened to the unmeaning 
directions of his commander, who, as well as himself, 
had never been there before. 



THE REEF. 307 

The increasing waves of a fast-rising storm were 
dammed by the opposing reef, until, accumulated in a 
huge mass, the multitudinous waters sprang madlj 
upward, and breaking above the crest, swept on with 
foam, the roar, and the speed of a mighty cataract. 

In sadness we parted from our shipmates in the 
boat, and in deep anxiety watched her progress 
towards the shore. She no sooner entered within the 
line of breakers, than a heavy roller passed over the 
stern, and knocking down the officer who sat there, 
filled th^ boat with water, and tore several of the oars 
from the hands of the rowers. The empty casks kept 
down by the thwarts, or benches upon which the 
rowers sat, alone prevented the boat from sinking. 
Water-logged, with a crew incapable of exertion, her 
fate seemed inevitable. But that Power which is 
ever at hand, and often exercised when human means 
are unavailing, preserved them. 

The set of the current was towards the land, and 
although the boat was pitched up and tossed down- 
ward and onward with great force and inconceivable 
rapidity, yet she could not sink so long as the thwarts 
retained their places. Fortunately, they were firmly 
fixed, and the crew clung to them with the desperation 
of drowning men. We were long kept in suspense, 
but our fears were relieved as we saw them drift by 
degrees into smoother water. 

Scarce had we drawn a long and grateful breath 
for the preservation of our friends, than it became 
necessary to turn attention to our owm security. The 
wind was freshening, and the sea rising rapidly, and 



308 THE MIDSHIPMAJN-. ^€..Su> 

60 ¥i (I, 

the aspect of the sky denoted a gale of long continu- 
ance. We were soon compelled to slip our cable, and 
stand out to sea, leaving our boat's crew without pro- 
visions, to make what shift they could. 

With the subsidence of the gale we returned to the 
anchorage, and our boat rejoined us. For six days, 
the crew had suffered great privation and exposure, for 
they were clad only in their summer garments. After 
waiting some time, we received a quantity of specie on 
board, and weighing anchor for the United States, 
proceeded to a northern port where our vessel was 
condemned for repairs. 

Here we separated — some to be clasped in the 
chaste embrace of wives, and listen to the winning en- 
dearments of their children. Some to receive a father's 
blessing, and some to pillow their heads on the fond 
maternal bosom. I go to greet acquaintance; to 
brood over recollections of the past, and feed my rest- 
less soul with anticipations of the future. 



• ""-'^m' 



